Kaidoh and the Seven Tennis Players
by inkedhymnal
Summary: Kaidoh lives in the woods with seven dads, but all that changes when a handsome prince stumbles into their home. MomoxKaidoh, other pairings. Yaoi. Rated M for some language, and sexual content in later chapters, better summary inside. Based on Snow White
1. Part 1

First things first. Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis, or Snow White. I do not get any profit from this fic whatsoever and do it for the fun of writing and having people enjoy my work.

Second - this is, yes, a yaoi fic. If you do not like that sort of thing, I suggest you NOT read it. I do not want to be flamed over this being male/male when you are totally against that. Don't like that sort of thing, don't read.On that same note, the main pairing within is KaidohxMomoshiro, but there are hints and out right tellings of others.

Third: Please comment. I do so enjoy them. 3

Four: Have fun reading. I write for you guys, so I do hope you like what I produce.

**Summary**: Kaidoh was found as a baby by seven men living in the woods and was raised by them. He is now eighteen, and a prince has stumbled into his home, but that creates more problems as certain people become aware of Kaidoh's existence - people who will do anything to keep Kaidoh from becoming more than a fairytale. Enjoy!

**Kaidoh and the Seven Tennis Players: Part 1**

Why? Why was it necessary to have that monstrosity of a family portrait hanging smack dab in the middle of the study? Kaidoh did not understand the appeal everyone else displayed for the item. To him it was utterly atrocious. Still, it was his job to clean the study, so dust he must under the humiliating gaze of that atrocious family portrait, not to mention the unmoving gazes of the seven others within the room.

He hissed to himself as he ran his sponge and rag over the various wooden tops, scrubbing till he could see his face within the shine. It wasn't that hard of a job, as the study was constantly being used and therefore never gathered much dust. Still, he could feel the eyes of that bloody family portrait boring into his back, and he dreaded going over to the mantle to clean it, since then he would have no choice but to stare at the horrid thing. If he had his way, the portrait would have been taken down ages ago, but his fathers demanded it remain in place, and that ended the discussion. He hissed louder when he realized there was nothing left to dust and clean _but_ the mantle, slowly turning towards the monstrosity.

He crossed his arms as he glared back at the family portrait from beneath his green and white bandanna, now totally at odds with how he had looked when the portrait was painted. Back then he had been a child of about five or six, and his fathers had taken an unhealthy amount of pleasure in grooming him to look like a girl (though Papa Niou claimed he looked like one anyways without their help). He sat in the center of seven older men, dressed in a light green and blue frock with enough frills to create the skirts of seven noble ladies with material to spare.

Papa Oishi held him in his lap, smiling for the painter. If anyone was a female in the house, it was Papa Oishi. The man was constantly mothering everyone, especially Kaidoh, could cook, clean, and chastise with the best of them, but was also very sweet and kind, an emotional pillar for the family that the others leaned on and knew they could go to with any problem.

Standing behind and to the side of Papa Oishi were Papa Eiji and Papa Chotarou. Eiji was the youngest of Kaidoh's fathers, his red hair shockingly obvious among the group. When Kaidoh was younger Papa Eiji usually got stuck with babysitting duty, as he was the one Kaidoh was most easily entertained by. Papa Choutarou also claimed regular babysitting duties, with a gentle, caring nature very much like Papa Oishi's and at odds with a majority of Kaidoh's other fathers. According to Papa Choutarou, he had been the one to sing Kaidoh to sleep at night and cuddle him when he had nightmares. Even today, when Kaidoh was on the verge of turning eighteen, he knew Choutarou and Eiji wouldn't hesitate to act as if he was still three. They had all but cried when Oishi decreed Kaidoh didn't need a nursery anymore.

The rest of Kaidoh's fathers were spread out behind those three – Papa Takishi, Papa Niou, Papa Yagyuu, and Papa Inui. Takashi was one of the tallest of his fathers, and easily the strongest. He was usually mild mannered and hardly ever scolded Kaidoh (which was why he got away with a lot when under the care of Papa Takishi), but put an ax in the man's hands and he was a raging bull – you never stood near Takishi when he went to chop the wood for the fireplace. Papa Inui was a real trip. He fancied himself a cook, but Takishi, Oishi, and just about everyone else had banned Inui from the kitchen. Papa Inui favored juice drinks – so called healthy – but he had nearly killed everyone in the house at least once. As for Papa Niou and Papa Yagyuu, well, they were characters. Niou enjoyed playing jokes and Yagyuu enjoyed pretending his was some sort of gentleman. Kaidoh could stand Yagyuu and respected him, but Niou…Kaidoh really didn't care if the man was thirty years older than him, he would never fully like Niou. Papa Niou was actually more of an older, annoying brother than a father, but he figured that was how Papa Niou wanted it, and the rest of the house treated their relationship that way.

"Glaring at it won't clean it."

Kaidoh suppressed a jolt and turned to see Oishi walk in the room, dressed in a simple shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a silver platter laden with finger sandwiches in his hands. "Papa," Kaidoh said by way of greeting.

Oishi flushed happily when Kaidoh referred to him as 'Papa'. When everyone was gathered, Kaidoh usually referred to each of his father's by name since yelling 'Papa' could mean any of the seven. In private, he favored them all with the title 'Papa', something they were inexplicably attached to.

"Well, if you're all done in here, you can go down to the river and help with the wash," Oishi offered, holding out the tray to Kaidoh, who accepted three sandwiches and munched on them as he pointedly ignored the family portrait.

"Don't want Inui mixing colors again?" Kaidoh asked.

Oishi sighed, "Is it that obvious?"

Kaidoh just regarded Oishi and popped another sandwich in his mouth. Of all his fathers, Inui was the Papa least adept at housework. This included everything from dusting to cloths washing. Unfortunately, no one felt like telling Inui he was pathetic at such work, so they let him take a job they thought he couldn't mess up. Washing was not one of them, but this week everyone else had a pet project, and Inui had been given the task of washing so the others could tend to said projects.

"It would be appreciated," Oishi offered as he set the tray down on the newly polished table, tugging at the cloth covering the snacks sat on.

Kaidoh hissed under his breath in agreement, setting down his rag and sponge, knowing Oishi would put the finishing touches on the study himself. Running a hand over his bandanna he headed down the stairs towards the back room where the work smocks were kept, selecting one of the cured leather aprons to tie around his waist and neck. He pulled at the apron to make sure it was firmly tied and rolled up his sleeves, abandoning his shoes and rolling up his doeskin trousers before heading out the door and towards the small river than ran by the place he called home.

He spotted Inui instantly, his spiky black hair visible over the brush bordering the slowly flowing river, thick glasses perched on his nose as he held up the butter soft doe-skin trousers that Yagyuu favored.

"Give me," Kaidoh hissed, taking the trousers from Inui's hands and carefully laying them out on the grass.

Inui pushed his glasses further up his nose, "All done in the house, Kaidoh?"

Kaidoh hissed by way of reply. Over the course of his years growing up with the seven men, he learned that by not saying much he got a lot more across. As a result, he'd developed a series of hisses and grunts that passed for answers, of which all but Eiji could usually translate into the simple sentences they actually stood for. Inui nodded, going back to the several baskets sitting around him, picking up another piece of Yagyuu's clothing, this time a finely stitched, pleasant yellow fabric with black and white bands sewn down the side with a series of stars.

Inui rose from his spot, heading for the water. Kaidoh hissed in alarm, going after his father, splashing into the cold river and snatching the garment away. "You don't dunk this!" he growled, placing the shirt next to the doeskin trousers. He glared over at the baskets and went to inspect, finding the basket that amounted to Takishi and Eiji's clothing. Both men worked outside a majority of the time, so the vast amount of their wash was usually very durable and capable of being manhandled. "Here, do these," he grunted, setting the basket closer to the river.

Kaidoh turned away and took Yagyuu's basket, not trusting Inui to not get back into it. Why was the supposed genius of the family such a dunce when it came to the laundry? Did he not realize that most of Yagyuu's clothing required quick dunk and rinsing processes against the rocks near the shallow edges of the rivers? No, probably not, and Kaidoh really didn't want to have sit through a dinner with one of Papa Yagyuu's steely, disapproving silences permeating the air. If anyone could kill a pleasant dinner without saying a word, it was Papa Yagyuu.

Silently Kaidoh and Inui went about their work, Kaidoh standing in the shallows of the river with Yagyuu's tightly wound clothing, dunking it in the icy water and hauling it out with a twist of his elbow and shoulder. The quiet work allowed Kaidoh's mind to wander in a direction he often contemplated, but never actually manage to get out into real words.

For starters – whose child was he? Certainly Oishi and Inui were possibilities. Where else could he have gotten his black hair from? But other than his hair, none of his facial features or personality quirks matched any of theirs. And if none of the men he called Papa were his real parents, then who was, and how had be come to be with these men anyways? Oh, for certain he was not ungrateful to them. They were his family in everyway possible, and had been the core essence of his life since he could remember. Yet his origins were never discussed with him in their presence, and he was not sure if they even knew of his origins.

He grunted as he yanked Papa Yagyuu's trousers over the rocks and out of the water, looking through the trees to spot the very top edges of the massive cottage he called him. The cottage towered three stories into the forest, the bottom devoted to a family room, kitchen, and the like. The second housed all seven of his father's bedrooms (though he personally thought that only about four of the rooms were actually in use…), and the third floor, about half the size of the others, was his to call his own. All his life he called that place home, and as he regarded the expertly thatched roof he let the questions of himself slip away. What use was it contemplating something like that? This was his home, and these seven men were his family. He was happy here, though he didn't often show or admit that to them these days.

"Almost done, Kaidoh?" Inui asked as he sloshed out of the river to deposit the washed clothing back in its basket to be taken back to the house and hung out to dry.

Kaidoh grunted and hissed, jerking the butter trousers through the river once more and carefully unraveling them and shaking the loose water off of them. Inui just pushed his glasses up further, mumbled something to himself, and gathered the finished baskets, pushing through the shrubbery at the edge of the river's banks and being swallowed by the forest on his way back to the mansion-cottage.

Sometime later, with his arm aching but tingling in a pleasant way from the exercise, Kaidoh sloshed out of the river, folding Papa Yagyuu's clothing carefully and placing it in its basket. He stood back, wiping his forehead with his forearm, taking in a deep, sweet breath of pine forest air. Licking his lips he turned and headed back to the river, splashing his face with the cool water before bending to drink.

_Rustle. Shhhh. Brssssh._

Kaidoh yanked his head up, instantly falling into a defensive crouch with his arms hanging low, sort of like the pictures of those large monkeys Papa Inui had in his completely random scientific books. His eyes darted across the scenery before him, looking for the minute shuffling of branches or a flicker of color that was not a natural part of the forest. In the back of his mind, he silently thanked Papa Niou for all the years of brotherly abuse, which had honed his defensive reactions.

The sounds came again, almost straight ahead from across the river. For a minute he debated about turning back and going home or going to inspect. His mind filled with images of Oishi, quietly cleaning the house, of Eiji and Choutarou out tending the family garden or gathering wild herbs for dinner, Takishi yelling his battle cry as he chopped wood with expert efficiency, Inui struggling to hang clothes, his ineptness at laundry showing through his genius, Yagyuu somehow keeping himself immaculately clean as he and Niou slithered through the forest, searching for the fresh game that would grace their table tonight.

His frown, already a thing that brought on nightmares to small animals, deepened. He shifted enough so he could walk while still keeping his arms hanging low; ready to react at any moment. He slipped back into the river, toes wrapping around the rocks and silt of the riverbed, making his way across as quietly as he could, his fingers brushing the top of the water.

The sounds persisted as he finished crossing, alighting on the opposite side and preparing to wriggle into the underbrush to see if he could find what was making all that noise. Nothing that belonged in the wood would make that much noise. It was like _asking_ a predator to eat it. Carefully he inched forward, reaching for the bushes.

A squeal tore through the air, and Kaidoh leapt back as two beasts burst through the brush and straight into the river, dunking their heads into its icy waters. Kaidoh spun, glaring at the two creatures; the fact they were horses finally dawning on him. The first to catch his attention was the right hand beast, a delicate little thing of snowy white and deep amber eyes. It wore simple leather tack, no obvious decoration, except a small symbol in the corner of its saddle pad – a stylized peach. The other beast was impressive, if only for its sheer size. The thing towered a good eighteen hands, but was certainly not the prettiest creature to look upon. Its barrel chest was wide and its head rather blockish, with a short cut, almost scraggly mane. However, the horse was well muscled through the haunches and withers, forcing Kaidoh to think it was better suited for plow work than the elegant silver and leather tack it sported.

Kaidoh skirted wide of the horses, slipping back into the river. The giant one flicked an ear in his direction, but otherwise kept drinking, the small white one looking up with ears perked forward, seemingly interested. Kaidoh had dealt with horses a few times. Sometimes Papa Yagyuu would leave for a few days and come home on one, then leave and come home without it. His experience was limited, but he knew enough to at least try and catch the horses' reigns and lead them out of the river. They had to belong to somebody or they had wandered away from their masters. Continuing to let them roam was detrimental, both for them and for the wood.

Moving slowly he crept closer, reaching down for the larger horse's bridle first. To be honest he expected the beast to run the moment he got within a few feet of it. Kaidoh had never been popular with animals. His fathers had actually purchased him a cat from god knows where for his birthday when he was ten, but the cat ended up more afraid of him than anything, and ended up only depressing Kaidoh since it ran or hissed anytime he came near. Eventually the cat disappeared, having escaped from the house one day and never came back. Kaidoh was also restricted from going hunting with Papas Yagyuu and Niou since if any animal caught sight of him it ran off into the woods without a second glance, making it very difficult for his fathers to make the kill. It was sort of depressing – the whole 'he scared animals out of their wits' thing. He liked animals, especially cute fuzzy ones. But this wasn't the time for that!

Trying to clear his face of any apparent emotion (which probably made him look even scarier), he reached down, fingers brushing the soft leather of the reins. The giant equine flicked an ear and raised its head, but otherwise did not panic. Kaidoh licked his lips and took a firm hold of the reins this time. Still the horse did not panic. It shook its head, spraying water from its muzzle. Encouraged, Kaidoh began to walk around to the smaller one, but the little white horse was ready and waiting, ears perked forward. It bumped him in the chest, making a 'whuff' sound through its nostrils.

Kaidoh took the reins, letting a smile slip onto his face. They hadn't run! The large equine snorted, showering him with water and snot. Kaidoh glared at it and hissed, but the big creature just blinked doe eyes at him and leaned its head forward, bumping him hard enough to make him stumble a bit in the water. Grumbling and hissing, he caught his balance and readjusted his grip on the leather, tugging as he stomped back to the opposite side.

The two horses resisted for a bare instant, then followed placidly like loyal dogs. He left the baskets of laundry, not coordinated enough to attempt to carry Papa Yagyuu's clothes and lead the animals at the same time. He winced as the horses crashed through the forest on the way back to the house, but what could he honestly expect? There were no wild horses around here, so that had to mean they came from somewhere else, and the tack proved they were owned. Forest travel was obviously not their forte.

"Oh, Kaidoh, there you are!" Papa Choutarou beamed as Kaidoh exited the woods. Choutarou, Eiji, Oishi, and Yagyuu were currently setting up the big outside table for a picnic. Choutarou's eyes widened as the two masses of horseflesh followed Kaidoh. "Dear lord, where did you get those?" he asked.

"I found them," Kaidoh replied. What? He had. Or, well, maybe they had found him.

Yagyuu stopped what he was doing and came over, readjusting his glasses as he took the reins of the little white horse. "You said you found them?" Yagyuu asked.

Kaidoh nodded with a hiss.

"They must belong to someone," Oishi pointed out, staring at the beasts.

"Oh, indeed they do," Yagyuu said, peering around at the flanks of the white equine.

Eiji pouted, "How can you tell?"

Yagyuu shifted the white one so it displayed the side of the saddle pad. He motioned to the little peach symbol. "That," he said by way of explanation.

Choutarou squeaked; Oishi and Eiji let out little gasps. Kaidoh furrowed his brow, glaring at the peach symbol and then at his parents. "What?" he asked when his immediate hiss of displeasure evoked no reaction.

"This could be problematic," Yagyuu said at last.

Kaidoh glared at the wannabe gentleman. "How so?" he demanded with an extra hiss for emphasis.

"Kaidoh, sweetie," Oishi said gently, "you promise you really did just find them?"

What was this? Kaidoh glared and growled in the back of his throat. Did they honestly think he had stolen them or something? For starters, what did he need a horse for? He never left the general area of the cottage! He didn't even know how to ride one, so that basically made the point of him even considering taking one moot, right?

Choutarou held up his hands, attempting to placate his adoptive son, "Now, now. We aren't accusing you. We just ask because – "

"There you are! Stop at once thief!" a voice boomed through the clearing.

The massive animal Kaidoh had a hold of lifted its head and danced in place, letting out a bellow from deep in its chest as it peered at the man approaching from the far side of the large clearing the cottage sat in. The little white horse pranced and tugged at Yagyuu's arm, whickering as a much smaller boy erupted from the brush behind the approaching man.

Yagyuu pushed his glasses up his nose and pointed at the man. "Because these horses belong to none other than Prince Momoshiro of the Kingdom of Hyotei," he finished Choutarou's sentence.

Kaidoh's eyes widened, and he found he couldn't even force out a hiss.

**END PT. 1**

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Remember, comments are loved and appreciated. 3 Thanks! -BM-

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	2. Part 2

**Kaidoh and the Seven Tennis Players: Part 2**

Momoshiro once asked himself how things could get much worse as he and his squire, Dan, tromped through the thick wood they somehow managed to get themselves lost in. His arse ached from being in the saddle for so long! He did not care if his father, King Atobe of Hyotei, had poured out money from his coffers to buy his son the best cross-country saddle there was – his butt freaking hurt! The bottom of his pelvis ground painfully into the saddle as his gigantic lout of a stead – Duncan – picked his clumsy way through the underbrush, jolting him every time the gelding paused to nibble something or listen as a woodland creature ran deeper into the surrounding area.

He looked back to see how his squire fared, feeling just a bit responsible for putting the poor young man in his current position. He'd done his best to acquire a suitable mount for Dan, but the boy was just so tiny! Clearly he was shorter than most children his age, so buying him a Shitenhouji Trotter (horses famed for their smooth, energy efficient, non-movement wasting trot, bred by the famous Kuranosuke family) was out of the question since the shortest height any of that bred ever recorded had been seventeen point five hands. He had to settle for a smooth endurance type from the country of Higa called a Tomoya. They were small, slender, and looked like they could be snapped in half like a twig, but could walk or trot from hours and never tire. Dan insisted on using his own tack, which was normal, short ride city tack. Momoshiro pitied his poor squire and was sure Dan would be nursing far more saddle sores than him when they stopped for the night.

"Your Highness, not to be rude, but are you sure we are going the correct way, desu?" Dan asked from behind Momoshiro.

Momo's eyebrow twitched. To be quite honest they were helplessly lost. But never in this lifetime was he going to admit to his own squire he had gotten them lost when they were barely three days from reaching the capital of Seigaku!

"No! Of course we're not lost!" he bluffed. "We're taking the scenic route!" He looked around him, squeezing his thighs around Duncan's sides as the horse attempted to stop and nibble another bush. Duncan snorted and kept going, turning his head and giving Momo a peeved look.

"Ah, I see, desu!" Dan replied.

Momo felt slightly guilty as he heard the complete and utter faith in Dan's reply. Why did the boy have to idolize him so? Sure he was the Crown Prince, Eldest Son of King Atobe, Heir-Apparent, but to be honest he hated that roll. He performed it well enough, but he knew his father was aware he half-assed it most of the time. While it was true Momoshiro enjoyed being powerful (he was the second strongest man in the kingdom, next to his father of course), he honestly didn't desire to be put on the throne. Being powerful and wielding that power for someone other than yourself was totally different that being powerful and luxuriating in that knowledge. He often went to bed after days spent in court wondering how in the world he was supposed to do what his father did. He just wasn't King material! He'd much rather stay a Prince and serve under his little brother Ryoma instead.

But no matter how powerful he was physically, mentally he just couldn't bring himself to tell his father he wished to abdicate. He knew how that conversation would go over. For his father, being king and having the family remain in power was everything. Atobe was a man of infinite grace and charisma, able to take a discouraged, heart broken crowd and turn them into a zealous mob within an hour. He commanded respect from all his soldiers and his people, and more than that, Atobe was a hurricane force of destruction in and of himself. Set his father on a battlefield and he could wipe out a third of the army if he really tried – all on his own too! Telling such a man that his own son was a weakling that did not desire the same things as he would go over like a sack full of bricks (and Momoshiro did _not _know how to swim very well at all).

Thus he found himself lost in a forest, no idea where in the hell he was going, praying to God that they found a clearing soon so they could rest, or maybe a main road. He wondered why it was even necessary for him to go to Seigaku. From the current reports, both Seigaku and Hyotei had clear control of the lands on the eastern half of the continent. He knew there had been some border skirmishes, but none had ever sparked a full scale war. Still, that was why he was being forced to go to Seigaku as he pondered that thought. He was going both as an emissary of his people, and also to propose an alliance marriage to King Tezuka. Everyone knew that the king had no children of his own, and thus his line would not inherit, but a cousin of his was next, a man called Lord Tachibana. It was to him and King Tezuka that Momoshiro now rode to see, all in hopes of securing a marriage with Lord Tachibana's sister, the Lady Tachibana Anne. Momoshiro had never seen or met her, but should they marry it would bring about peace for both countries since it would be a match between two ruling figures. He could only hope she was decent, both in her physical form and her mentality.

"My prince, look, desu!" Dan squeaked.

Momoshiro came out of his thoughts, blinking rapidly to readjust his vision to the sun-pocked light of the forest. Dan was situated behind him, so 'look' didn't mean too much. Still, as he scanned the forest he found what he thought Dan meant. He spotted a small deer trail through a pack of bushes, and through the trees and shrubs he could make out a large patch of sunlight, which meant a clearing. Finally!

"This way!" Momoshiro called to Dan, urging Duncan towards the trail.

The clearing itself was small, but that was fine. Gingerly, Momo slid from Duncan's back, grateful that none by Dan was there to see his less than graceful dismount. He dropped the reins over Duncan's head and lopped them loosely back through a ring in the horse's martingale so the beast would not trip, and slipped on Duncan's travel halter, tying the lead rope to a tree branch. His squire followed suit, and both animals seemed more than content to stop their endless plodding and graze off the sweet forest grass beneath their hooves.

"Alright, Dan, you go and find some wood for a fire," Momoshiro instructed. "I thought I heard a river nearby, so I'll go see if I can't find it for some fresh water." He and his squire both had a goodly water supply, but fresh water and stale water were two different things, and he'd much rather have fresh than stale.

Dan saluted, "Yes sir!" He bowed quickly and made his way into the brush.

"Don't go to far! Be back before it's to dark!" Momoshiro called.

Dan's head appeared from behind the clearing's ring of bushes, little cheeks flushed. "As you say, Your Highness, desu!" he beamed and vanished once more.

Momoshiro shook his head, a smile tweaking his lips as he turned to the horses. He patted Duncan's rich roan flank. "Stay here while I'm gone, k?" he asked, though both beasts ignored him in favor of the grass.

He checked to make sure his boot knife was secure and he had an undamaged water skin before heading back out into the woods. For once he had not bluffed when he said he heard a river. He really had. The noise was faint, but unmistakable. He paused for a moment, closing his eyes and letting the world sort of fade. The sounds of the wood flooded senses – squirrels arguing, birds singing their love songs, rabbits sniffing, the soft velvet sigh of a river as it carved its way through the earth.

He opened his eyes and headed to his right at an angle, heading for the sigh that turned into a gurgle as he neared the river. He pushed out from the bushes, face lighting up as he set eyes on the clear stream before him. It was so clear and pure you could see the riverbed clearly, rocks as round as marbles glittering on the riverbed, the river's shores the color of chocolate.

Carefully he knelt, cupping his hands in the deliciously frigid waters. Greedily he drank, able to feel the cold liquid glide down his throat and settle in his stomach. Once he had his fill, he dipped the skin in the river, filling it as much as he could. Thankfully the skin was made of leather and pig's gut, which meant it could stretch a great deal and hold more. He took a few extra moments to splash his face and hands, getting the dirt and grime of the road and wood off himself. He peered at his reflection, somewhat broken as the stream whistled past. Satisfied that by the time they reached the capital he would be somewhat presentable even with road dust, he rose and headed back the way he came.

Going back took him longer than going, mostly because he often had to pause and realign himself with the various little landmarks he used to make it to the stream in the first place. He finally spotted the great wash of sunlight that denoted the clearing and pushed forward eagerly, his prize of sparkling, icy water sloshing merrily at his hip. He squirmed past the last of the bushes, only to fall back in them as his squire tackled him.

"Dan!" he blustered. "Dan, what the hell was that for?" It wasn't very princely language, but at this point he didn't care.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, desu!" the little squire blubbered into the vicinity of Momo's belly.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" Momo asked, trying to get Dan to lift his head so he could better understand his sniffling squire.

Dan let out a wail and pointed to where the horses _should _been. Instead, all that was on the ground were a pair of soft silk and leather travel halters. "Duncan and-and Akutsu are gone!" he wailed. "I'm so sorry! I came back from getting firewood like you said and they weren't here!"

Momo cursed under his breath, managing to wriggle out from beneath his weeping squire. He went over to the halters, picking up the larger of the two. The silver buckle seemed to be functioning properly, still neatly buckled, as it was when he had put it on Duncan. However, on the other side, one of the knots that made up the travel halter had come undone. He growled and threw the useless piece of tack down, turning instead to inspect the halter that should have held Dan's horse, Akutsu, in place. He picked it up and glared at the thing. To his eyes it looked a little to big for Akutsu's rather refined head, so slipping out would be an easy thing, especially if he wanted to follow Duncan when Duncan got loose.

He grunted and pushed to his feet, throwing the useless halter on the ground with Duncan's. He turned to Dan, who was still sniffling, clearing expecting some sort of punishment. It was a silly notion at best. Why should he punish Dan for something that was clearly not his fault? Both of them had thought the horses well trained enough that even if they got loose they wouldn't wander to far, content to stay and graze. Apparently wander lust had infected Duncan, and after weeks of traveling behind the massive beast, Akutsu was more than happy to follow the leader of the herd.

"Alright, Dan, stop crying," he ordered. Dan hiccupped once and hastily wiped his eyes, jumping to his feet. When Momo was sure Dan would not break out into hysterical tears again, he continued. "There's nothing left to do but fine Duncan and Akutsu, alright? Now, if I had to guess, they probably headed for the river. It was negligent on our parts to not water them first," he admitted.

Dan shook his head, "Oh no, Your Highness! It's my job, so it's my fault, desu!"

Momo glowered, "Be that as it may, we still need to find them." He looked around the clearing, spotting a rather large part of the bushes that seemed to have gotten a beating. "I can guess they went this way," he pointed at the bruised bushes. "Come on. If they made that big a mess going through bushes then the trail should be easy to follow."

"Sir!" Dan saluted, falling in step behind Momoshiro as he made to follow the horses' path.

They traveled for what seemed hours. The horses' path was at best meandering, and at worst the crazed path of a drunkard. Still, Momoshiro had to wonder how Duncan's halter came undone. Those halters were top of the line from the capital, and no merchant dared to sell Momo anything but the best. That left several options, and the one Momoshiro concluded could be one of the only possibly choices was that there was a band of thieves in these woods, and while he and Dan were gone had taken Duncan and Akutsu as some sort of prize. Since the horses still had their saddle packs on that was more than plausible since a portion of his travel funds were still inside them, not to mention gifts for the King, Lord Tachibana, and the Lady Tachibana. Man, why was this happening now?

They eventually made it to the river, but there was no sign of the horses. After traveling both directions up and down the river for some time, Momo finally decided the horses must have crossed to the other side. Grumbling to himself, Momo and Dan waded across, but found no immediate signs of the horses' passage. To be honest, the signs had somewhat faded about twenty minutes ago, but Momo amounted that to the fact the horses were getting used to forest travel. Still, there was no use in stopping now, and he assumed at some point they would hear his giant beast picking off leaves from bushes or crushing something beneath his hooves.

They searched for many more hours, all of it fruitless. Finally, after what seemed to long a time, his feet aching and his face scratched from pushing through so many branches, his squire gasped. "Sir! Your Highness, I think I see a rooftop, desu!" Dan cried out.

Momoshiro paused and followed the direction Dan was pointing. Indeed, there _was_ a rooftop. And if there were a cottage, there were people. Possibly the thieves that stole their horses!

"Forward, Dan!" Momoshiro growled, surging through the flora, heading straight for that cottage rooftop.

"Your Highness!" Dan squeaked, running after him.

Rage boiled in Momoshiro's gut. How dare some backwater commoners steal his horse? Did these people have no sense of decency? Did they not know whom they were dealing with? Printed quite clearly on Dan's saddle pad was Momoshiro's personal emblem, and on Momoshiro's was the emblem of the Royal Family of Hyotei. Were these ruffians so uneducated they could not even tell that much? When he got hold of them there would be no mercy!

He pushed through the last of the bushes, stumbling into a rather large cleared area. To his left stood a massive cottage, made of soft brown wood and golden thatch. Whoever these thieves were, they had done their plundering well, since he spotted glass in the windows. Even in Hyotei glass was reserved for only the highest of nobility and cost a fortune even for a small window.

His gaze quickly spotted his own Duncan, the roan animal held by a young man with black hair and a green bandanna. Akutsu seemed happy enough to stand next to a taller man with glasses. Three others stood to the side around a table that seemed as it was being prepared for a picnic of some sort, and the one holding Duncan did not seem happy as the other three spoke.

His anger pushed all rational through from his mind as he stormed across the clearing. "There you are! Stop at once thief!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

The three at the table started and turned quickly, their faces betraying their surprise. The man holding Duncan widened his eyes, but the man holding Akutsu just pushed his glasses further up on his nose and pointed at Momoshiro, saying something. Whatever it was, it was apparently not an order to kill him, since nobody attempted to stop him or Dan as he stormed up and stopped before the man holding Duncan.

"Release my horse," he growled, "by order of the Crown Prince of Hyotei."

The young man glared at him, nearly as tall as Momoshiro. Momoshiro got an eyeful of a rather handsome face – softly chiseled, a narrow nose, eyes dark as a night sky, and lips full enough he thought they belonged a woman, but looked pleasant on the man. Wisps of dark black hair poked out from beneath the bandana, and a well-muscled arm gripped Duncan's reins.

"I said release my horse," Momoshiro repeated himself, putting all his princely arrogance behind his words.

"Kaidoh, do as His Highness says," chastised one of the three men by the table – the one with close cut hair and sideburns, amber eyes flashing at the man holding Duncan (apparently called Kaidoh), lips forced down in a scowl.

Kaidoh glared at Momoshiro, then, of all things, _hissed_. This man actually _hissed _at him! He held out the reins roughly, glaring. Duncan snorted his displeasure at having his mouth so roughly yanked with the bit still in.

Momoshiro glowered, "I'd thank you not to ruin my horse's mouth by manhandling him, Mr. Viper."

Kaidoh's eyes widened. "I'm not a Viper!" he growled, voice low like a rumble of thunder.

"No? Then a thief," Momoshiro said as he snatch the reins.

"I did not steal your horse!" Kaidoh thundered. "I found them by the river!"

Momoshiro snorted. "So you just took them then, eh? That's called stealing!"

"Not when there's no one around to claim ownership!"

"The saddle pads' insignia say who they belong to!"

"Couldn't you have stolen them yourself?"

Momoshiro gaped, "I beg your pardon! I am Crown Prince Momoshiro of Hyotei! I do not steal! But apparently vipers in Seigaku make false accusations _and_ steal!"

"I told you I found them by the river! And I am not a viper!" Kaidoh thundered, the man accenting his words with a deep hiss.

"Enough!" barked the man from earlier that had chastised Kaidoh for not immediately giving Duncan over to Momoshiro. "Enough both of you! You're acting like five year olds!"

Momoshiro blinked at this man that dared lecture him as if he was his mother. However, he did have a point. Coughing, Momoshiro straightened himself and calmed down, nodding to the man with a bowl cut, "Yes, you are right. Please forgive my rudeness. I admit I have jumped to conclusions, but evidence suggested thieves."

The man that had been holding Akustu came around to stand with the other three, and Momoshiro had to note he was dressed more gentlemanly than the others. "It is understandable, considering what fine horseflesh your mounts are," he said.

Momoshiro nodded his head at the compliment, "Well, I apologize for any insult I may have caused. If you will excuse us, my squire and myself should be going now. We need to be in the capital before to long."

The tall, silver haired man standing by the table held up a placating hand, "Won't you at least stay for dinner? We have more than enough to add two people, and it's the least we can do after causing you so much trouble."

Kaidoh hissed under his breathe, but was silenced by a glare from the bowl cut man. Momoshiro would have refused, but a twist in his stomach said that dinner would be nice. He didn't honestly think these men would try and drug him if they simply gave the horse back, though one had addressed him as 'Your Highness', which suggested they did indeed know whom he was. He licked his lips, glancing at the five before another angry twist of his stomach decided him.

"Very well. It cannot hurt," he admitted.

The silver haired man beamed, "Wonderful! I'll go tell Takishi we have two more guests! Kaidoh, show His Highness to where he can keep the horses for now."

Kaidoh glowered at the silver haired man and let out another hiss before turning on his heel and stomping off towards the cottage. He looked back over his shoulder. "Are you coming?" he snarled.

Momoshiro's hackles rose, but he refrained from rising to the bait. He would not make a fool of himself before his hosts. With as much dignity as he could muster, he clicked his tongue and started following the Viper, all the while swearing he could hear Kaidoh hissing.

**End of Pt. 2**


	3. Part 3

**Kaidoh and the Seven Tennis Players: Part 3**

Upon his return from showing the Royal Pain in the Ass where the small shed that passed for a stable was, Niou commandeered Kaidoh to help finish setting up the picnic table. Adding two more didn't seem like a big deal, but in order for everyone to be seated comfortably (Kaidoh and his Papas were not small men to be sure) required another half-table to be added. Of course, Niou's ulterior motive for asking for Kaidoh's help in the first place was to glean Kaidoh's version of the story of the Prince's arrival, which he found far more amusing than Yagyuu's since Kaidoh included how much of a prick he thought the Prince was.

They managed to get the table out and set, Kaidoh noticing with not a little ire that the Prince and his squire stood off to the side, no help at all. Really, did the Prince think he was at home or something, and that Kaidoh and his fathers were servants to wait on him hand and foot? Not if Kaidoh could help it. Still, with Choutarou and Yagyuu hanging around to complete dressing the table, Kaidoh dared not give the Prince the dressing down he thought he deserved for letting them do all the work.

Kaidoh managed to escape helping set out of the food with the excuse he needed to go and fetch the rest of the laundry, forgotten in the verbal scuffle when the Prince arrived. During the small trek to where the clothing was, Kaidoh vented his rage, sending several squirrels careening up a tree and giving a rabbit a heart attack. He might have felt some guilt over doing so, but his rage at the sheer…sheer…sheer _arrogance_ of that bloody Prince Momoshiro took up to much room to let another emotion in at the moment.

Really, what was with calling him a viper? He knew he hissed, but he wasn't a snake! The Prince had called Kaidoh and his family rude, but the Prince was the rudest of all! Where did he get off insulting Kaidoh from the start, and Kaidoh was the one who ended up with the tongue lashing and getting punished? It wasn't fair! He didn't care if Momoshiro was royalty; he didn't look a day older than Kaidoh was! Kaidoh had been taught he had to pull his own weight around the house, so why was Momoshiro exempt from that if he was going to be eating with them? And being a prince was not an excuse in any way, shape, or form!

All of that ran through his mind as he put up the laundry and the family gathered for lunch, Kaidoh barely making it to the table in time to claim his favorite dish (Takishi's specialty rice and catfish cakes) first and keep the others from hogging it (and he had a suspicion the Prince would not take small, dainty servings either). Even with the extra table the seating was a bit crowded, and unfortunately his fathers had worked it so he sat right next to the prince.

To make matters worse – the prince was _loud_. Kaidoh never believed that someone could be that loud with food stuck in their mouth, but Momoshiro proved him dead wrong. He stuffed his face full as if he had not eaten in a week, and then proceeded to laugh and spout idiocies with rice flying across the table. In all his life Kaidoh had never seen someone with such atrocious table manners (except Niou when he was in a hurry or very pissed). To be honest, it was disgusting. What made matters worse was that his fathers didn't seem to care! They laughed and joked with the Prince, totally ignoring the fact he was making a complete mess of himself and the table. It only continued to worsen matters when the nagging thought that he would have to be the one to clean the table cloth this week – and what normally took five minutes would take a good forty-five with the stains the Prince was leaving! Well, maybe not stains. He wasn't a slob – just loud and apparently hungry.

"So, Prince, where exactly where you headed to?" Oishi asked as he pushed his plate aside and sipped at the after-meal tea.

"Hmm? Oh, I was heading to the Capital of Seigaku," Momoshiro said, taking a great gulp of water.

"Well, duh," Eiji giggled from his spot next to Oishi. "Where else would a Prince head to?"

Momoshiro laughed. "Agreed. But, you see, I'm actually heading there on formal business. I'm supposed to negotiate a treaty between Seigaku and Hyotei."

"Not surprising," Yagyuu said, pushing his glasses up his nose, a motion that foretold the divulging of information that might or might not be necessary. "The skirmishes between Seigaku and Hyotei have gotten worse, though nothing official has been said about them as of late."

Momoshiro's brown darkened, growing serious for the first time since he'd accused Kaidoh of stealing his horse. "Yeah, well, my dad decided I was the last ditch effort before all out war, really," he grumbled.

Kaidoh got the feeling that such an 'honor' was not really an honor for Momoshiro. Why that was he couldn't understand, but he got the feeling anyways. The conversation continued on, mostly straying towards inter-country politics now, a subject Kaidoh always found boring. He picked at his food, full already, and felt, suddenly, as if he needed to go jogging. He always felt like that when he ate too much.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, something fat and wet smacked the back of his hand.

He blinked, looking down at his hand were several splattered drops of water formed. Another soon joined it and he looked up, greeted by a sky that had turned gray without him knowing it. He blinked and shook his head as pain shot through his eyes when a water droplet landed right in his pupil. At that point, the drops turned into a drizzle.

"Rain?" Choutarou mused, holding out his hand as the drops came down.

"Oh! Hurry! Everyone grab plates and get it all inside before it pours!" Oishi cried out, grabbing several dishes as per his own instructions.

The picnic lunch dissolved as everyone scrambled to save left over food and drinks. Kaidoh snatched up the catfish cakes, his own dish, and the tablecloth, dashing for the house. Everyone managed to get inside before the downpour really began, coming down in waves so thick Kaidoh could barely see a foot beyond the windowpane. Amidst all the grumbling, laughter floated above them, rich and almost sensuous. It didn't sound like the laughter of any of his fathers, and Kaidoh doubted the little squire could produce such a sound. So that meant…

He turned and glared at the Prince. "What is so funny?" he hissed like an angered pit viper.

Momoshiro glanced at Kaidoh and his laughter nearly doubled. By now everyone had stopped to stare at the Prince, including his squire. Kaidoh hissed in the back of his throat, glaring at the Prince.

"I'm – I'm sorry!" Momoshiro laughed. "But you! Running! Tablecloth!" Kaidoh gave another, meaningfully dark hiss. Momoshiro paused, snorted, and let out another burst of laughter. "Dude, you looked like a runaway bride with that tablecloth flapping behind you! It looked like a wedding gown or something!"

Kaidoh's cheeks took on a distinct red hue and his hiss turned into a low growl. Niou cracked up, and Kaidoh noticed several of his other fathers were trying to hide giggles unsuccessfully. He glared the Prince, who was still laughing, tears nearly coming out of his eyes.

Kaidoh's hiss turned into a roar, and he launched himself at the Prince.

* * *

"And it was such a nice day too."

Royal Magician Fuji Shusuke turned away from the window to look back into his workroom atop the highest tower, narrow-eyed gaze focusing on an elegantly carved mirror hanging prominently on the wall directly behind him. The dark glass was set into a frame of deep black ash, an intricate design of diamonds and gold extending out to give the mirror a pleasing aspect, and Fuji felt such a luxurious frame merely due honor for such a priceless piece.

"Can't you make it sunny again?"

Fuji chuckled and turned away from the window, approaching the mirror. "Come now, Yuuta, you know I can't do that."

The glass of the mirror turned milky for a minute, then darkened to black and the face and upper body of a young man appeared. His face was a match for Fuji's, elegantly sharp, with wide, stormy gray eyes and short-cropped auburn hair. The only imperfection to the boy's perfect skin and body was a cross-scar that ran across the top right corner of his forehead.

He smiled and laughed, "Yeah, I know Shusuke. Never hurts to ask though."

"No, I suppose," Fuji agreed, turning away from the mirror and devoting his attention to a workbench.

Yuuta said no more, and Fuji assumed the boy within the mirror had disappeared to whatever realms the mirror held to rest. Appearing in the mirror was no mean feat, and Yuuta had never been a mage – even when he was not trapped in the mirror. Fuji's fingers clenched a sheaf of papers harder than necessary at the memory. He still remembered that snowy day, medics rushing back and forth as they attempted to save Yuuta, felled by an ambush by brigands on his way to the castle from the Fuji's estates to the east. He remembered Yuuta's plea for Fuji to use his magic to save him, to let him live. Yet even Fuji was not powerful enough to cheat death – not entirely. He looked back at the mirror and sighed to himself, not for the first time wishing he had more magic at his disposal. If he did, then maybe Yuuta would not be trapped in that mirror…

"Shusuke?"

Fuji blinked as the deep, sonorous voice blew through the thick wood of his workroom door like it was so much cotton. He smiled to himself, knowing exactly who it was. "It's safe," he called, not having to look up to know it was His Imperial Majesty, King Tezuka Kunimistu, that walked through the door.

Fuji listened as the door shut, but no other sounds of movement could be heard. Another smile managed to escape him as he organized papers, knowing exactly what Tezuka was seeing. Fuji's workroom was your typical magician's mess of experiments, papers, and magical artifacts. Oh, it was all neatly organized – at least to him. A plethora of glass tubes and strange liquids bubbled on the center table, and an entire desk was devoted solely to his research papers in the back half of the room. A bookshelf was crammed with all sorts of texts – fairy tales, histories, medical sciences, biology, etc. – and then he had a rather large cabinet and drawer set together, open, and practically over flowing with a neatly organized group of magical appliances.

"The climb did not wear you out, I hope, my king," Fuji purred, finally looking over at Tezuka with his usual noncommittal smile.

Tezuka regarded Fuji gravely, like he always did. "No. I found it refreshing," he said in that sonorous voice, but with absolutely no emotion to it. Some people found this disturbing, but Fuji found it rather charming.

The only reason Fuji asked was because his workroom was rather out of the way of the rest of palace life. No, it was not down in the dungeon like a normal magician's. He hated the dungeons. They were cold, damp, and were far too accessible to normal people. Plus, they had no view, and he didn't like listening to prisoners complain all day long either. He much preferred his view of the kingdom from the highest tower in the palace, and a rather large flight of stairs (they helped to discourage the casual curious servant). Fuji, of course, didn't have to use the steps, though he sometimes did to help remind himself and the staff he was human.

"And what has brought my sovereign king all the way to his magician's tower on this lovely day?" Fuji asked, setting his papers in their correct spots and coming around his bubbling glass tubes to stand before Tezuka.

Tezuka looked at Fuji over the rim of oval shaped glasses Fuji's predecessor had shaped for the king when he was a prince, Tezuka's vision not as perfect as it should have been. He turned his gaze to the window, regarding the rain driving against the pain with the same severity he did everything else.

"Crown Prince Momoshiro is late," Tezuka said at last, arms crossed over his chest.

Fuji was silent a moment, regarding the rain. "I shall look into it, Highness," he said, nodding his head.

Tezuka's eyes went back to Fuji, for a minute the hard orbs softening. It was barely a moment though, and only a man such as Fuji could have caught the change. He smiled for his king and nodded once more, Tezuka returning the gesture and sweeping out of the room with all his kingly grace.

Fuji stared at the door a bit longer, then turned to the dark glass of the mirror. "Yuuta," he called gently.

The mirror turned milky again, and Yuuta showed his face once more. "Yes, brother?" he asked.

"Do you think you can do a scrying for me?" Fuji asked, aware that while Yuuta might be considered magical for being in the mirror, that did not automatically mean Yuuta could perform spells. Yuuta had some talent thanks to his soul being trapped in the thing, but not much.

Yuuta considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. Today's a good day."

Fuji smiled at his younger brother. A good day meant the mirror's boundaries were not weighing so heavily on his brother's entrapped soul. "Good. Find the Crown Prince Momoshiro of Hyotei. Our Lord King says he is late."

"I'm on it!" Yuuta grinned.

The grin lasted only a moment, his face growing smooth and impassive. He closed his eyes, and a sort of humming sound, just barely audible, issued from the mirror. Fuji waited patiently, aware that scrying, while simple for those with the talent for it, was difficult otherwise. He'd been surprised to discover Yuuta could even perform scrying –the first time an accident when Fuji could not find a special trinket and Yuuta had searched for and found it. Of course, after several days of experimentation, they had discovered Yuuta's limits. Sometimes he could scry, and other days not. It depended on how well Yuuta's soul meshed with that of the mirror on any particular day, and there was no set pattern.

"I found him!" Yuuta cried out, his mirror prison fading to milky pale, then resolving into the scene of what Fuji thought might be a cottage out in the woods.

A large number of people sat around a fire, and smack dab in the center was the Crown Prince Momoshiro and his squire. Well, at least they were safe, but this did not give him an indication of where he was. He knew better than to ask Yuuta to attempt to find out more. If this was what Yuuta could scry for him, this was it, and pushing would only hurt Yuuta. Fuji examined very detail, cursing the fact there was no window in the cottage for him to see out of and perhaps identify where it lay. His eyes unconsciously scanned the men gathered around the Prince, and stopped on the face of a young man with black hair, wide black eyes, and lips so full they usually would not be considered beautiful on a man's face.

He gripped the edges of the mirror, eyes coming open as he stared at the man. There was no possible way! It could not be! But there was no other person he knew of that bore that face – that could have grown to have that face! None!

"Shusuke?" Yuuta asked, the image vanishing to be replaced by Yuuta's face once more, looking drained.

Fuji came back to himself and smiled serenely at Yuuta. "Thank you, brother, that was most helpful," he soothed the younger man, who smiled and faded, probably off to rest in the folds of the mirror's world.

Fuji turned away from the mirror and went back to the window, staring out into the rain.

It was not possible! It could not be! He thought he had made sure there would be nothing left! So how? How was he still alive? And worse, how was he cavorting with the Crown Prince?

Fuji willed himself to be calm, to think back all those years to that one fateful day. Well, perhaps not day. It was more like an entire nine months of anxiety and then a fateful day. He growled to himself as he recalled everything that led up to it.

His elder sister was destined to be wed to Tezuka, to become the Crown Princess alongside the Crown Prince and one-day rule Seigaku and elevating House Fuji to royal standards. The marriage elevated Fuji from House Mage to Royal-Mage Apprentice, and more than anything Fuji wanted his sovereign to be happy. He and Tezuka had been playing together since they were babes, and while he felt resentment over his sister being the one to win Tezuka's hand, in hindsight it did not matter so long as he could serve Tezuka and make sure nothing made him unhappy.

And that would have been so much easier if his sister had been as princesses like as she should have been.

He recalled the night she had come bursting into his rooms, all tears and shakes. At first Fuji thought some scoundrel of a guard had attempted to assault her, but when she explained what was truly wrong, it was all Fuji could do not to hit her himself. The blasted woman was pregnant! And not with Tezuka's child, but with a stable hand's! To think his sister could have been such a whore, and at such an important time! His sister did have one stroke of luck, and it was that her pregnancy would not show till the cold months. She would wear large clothes to hide her growing belly, and with careful steps could hide the birthing and any evidence of it. She was not due to marry Tezuka till the summer of the next year – plenty of time to straighten the mess out.

It took more gold coin than Fuji would have liked to keep the servants silent, but they pulled it off. His sister gave birth with no apparent problems, and Fuji wrapped the child up and left the castle that night on the pretext of being summoned to Yuuta's side at the family's estate. The court accepted this easily, knowing the Fuji House was close knit, and he left. He rode to the edge of one of Seigaku's more magically inclined areas, a place known as Tokyo Forest. He went in a few paces, still keeping his horse in sight, then deposited the babe at the base of a tree and left. It was callous, he knew, but the babe bore a resemblance to his sister, and he could not risk a connection. If it lived, so be it. More than likely it would die, and all the better.

Of course, trouble had followed the disposal of the infant. His sister had gone into a depression, something he could not remedy without revealing what had happened, and that he would not do. He managed to convince his sister to keep her silence about her shame and to at least pretend she was excited, and the marriage went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, that was when the side affects of the birthing showed. His sister was unable to get children from Tezuka, her womb damaged from birthing the bastard child.

Tezuka had been deeply hurt by this fact. The court did not see it, but Fuji did. He couldn't bear to see his childhood friend that way, so he had gone to him to comfort him, to assure him he did nothing wrong. In the end that comfort took on forms some courtiers would have been rather upset with. To put it politely – it was no longer his sister that graced Tezuka's bed at night.

And now, nearly eighteen years after the fiasco, he was shown someone that could be that child! And with the Crown Prince, that produced the possibility he could end up in the Capital, or worse, before Tezuka and his sister! If his sister saw the child, she'd know right away and everything would fall apart!

No, he would not let it happen! He would never let that child reappear before Tezuka or his sister! If Tezuka learned the truth…

Fuji glared up at the sky, still pouring ran, though it had lightened somewhat. He glared at the clouds, murmuring a word under his breath and tracing a glyph on the sill. He turned away before the glyph faded, going to his bookshelf and dragging out a rather tomb of maps.

Outside, the clouds darkened to a wicked black, the sky rumbled, and the rain came down like an unrelenting waterfall.

**End Pt. 3**

* * *

Remember to R&R please! 8D


	4. Part 4

**Kaidoh and the Seven Tennis Players: Part 4**

Momoshiro sat in the most comfortable chair his new acquaintances had to offer, a cold slab of meat pressed to his cheek and a strip of cloth stuffed up his nose. If he had gotten a look at himself in the mirror, he was pretty sure he'd faint from the ridiculous image he cut. Thankfully, though, the seven older men didn't laugh at his beaten appearance, merely showed concern and attempted to make him feel better.

Momoshiro's gaze slid over to the far end of the semi-circle the group had made with Momo at its center. On the outside edge sat Kaidoh, whom Momo refused to call anything else but the Viper in his mind. Momo conceded it had not been polite to laugh at the Viper's expense when they were attempting to rapidly clean up the picnic tables before the rain started, but the image was just too funny! The seven older men had found it amusing as well, so why didn't the Viper just roll with the punches and laugh too? It wasn't like it was a mean joke. It was just a comical observation of the black haired youth sprinting for the cottage with a white tablecloth clutched at his waist that flared out behind him like the skirts of a wedding gown. What was there to take offense at?

What was done was done though, and now they both paid the price for it. Momoshiro bore a swiftly coloring bruise on his cheek and bloodied nose, and the Viper had been severely reprimanded by the man Momoshiro identified as the leader (more or less). On top of that, the biggest of the lot had denied the Viper a slice of one of the most delicious cake Momo had ever tasted! Made of sweet vanilla, stuffed with strawberry cream, and topped with chocolate icing and real strawberries – oh, it was heaven! He made a mental note to ask one of the men for the recipe before he left.

The big man, whom Momoshiro thought was called Takeshi or Taki – something like that - had grabbed Kaidoh and hauled him off Momo before the Viper did any more damage. In retrospect, Momoshiro had to give the Viper credit. Momoshiro had never seen anyone lash out as quickly as the Viper did with that arm, nor been punched so hard either. Whatever the Viper was, he was certainly no weakling. The big man – Takishi, yes! That was his name! – kept Kaidoh back along with the help of the black haired man in glasses (Inui?), while the leader (Oishi?), Dan, and the tall silver haired one (Choutarou?) helped Momoshiro up and performed first aid. The spiky silver haired man (Niou?) and the red-head (Eiji) fell on each other in fits of laughter, and the other man with glasses, the gentleman (Yagyuu?), merely sighed and went to work on the dishes.

Once the chaos died down and Oishi had thoroughly tongue-whipped the Viper, they all settled down around a large, beautifully cared fireplace to eat cake and talk while the storm raged outside.

"Um, excuse me, desu?" the high-pitched voice of Dan sounded over the crackle of the fire.

All eyes turned to the small boy. "Yes?" Choutarou asked sweetly.

"Um, well, since this storm probably won't let up till tomorrow…where do my Prince and I sleep, desu?" he asked, blinking innocently.

The seven older men looked nonplussed, as if the thought never crossed their minds. "Oh, that is a problem, isn't it?" Niou drawled with a sort of crooked grin on his face.

Inui got up from the group and ascended the cottage's stairway. Everyone waited in quiet anticipation for him, the man finally appearing after a few minutes with a very wide book in his hands. He took a small table from beside the fireplace and dragged it over so all could gather around and look on comfortably, then opened the book and flipped a few pages to reveal the schematics for the cottage itself.

"The first floor has no rooms," he said. "The second," he motioned to the schematic before him," has eight, and the third," he flipped the page briefly, "has one, but it's large."

"There are ten of us, desu," Dan piped up.

"Yes, I realized that," Inui said a tad shortly. He turned the page back to the second floor. He tapped the room nearest the staircase, "This is the smallest and is currently unused." He moved his finger to the left, "This is Choutarou's room." He kept moving his finger to the right and around the semi-circle the rooms made. "Eiji's, Oishi's, mine, Takishi's, Yagyuu's, and Niou's."

"Where does…?" Momo trailed off, not wanting to say Kaidoh's name aloud for fear the man would attack him again.

"Kaidoh?" Inui finished. He flipped the page to the schematic of the third floor, which from the view outside was roughly half the size of the other two floors. "This is his room."

"The entire third floor?" Momoshiro spluttered.

Eiji shrugged. "Well, when he was younger it was his nursery and playroom, then his bedroom and his playroom, and now it's just his bedroom."

The men did say they'd raised the Viper, but Momoshiro had been unaware of how highly they valued the him. To have an entire story as your own room in a house such as this? Well, to be honest, Momoshiro didn't have room to talk. He claimed an entire wing of the palace as his own since infancy, so half a story wasn't exactly grand by his standards.

"I shall sleep in the smallest room, desu!" Dan offered, turning the page back and pointing to the room Inui indicated was unused.

Inui nodded. "Very well. We have spare sheets and pillows, so it can be made ready in a few moments."

"But that leaves us with one person to many," Yagyuu pointed out.

Momoshiro kept his mouth shut. He didn't really want to force anyone out of their own bedroom, but he did hope that these country folk wouldn't make him sleep out in the stables or anything! He was a Prince after all…

"He can share Kaidoh's room," Oishi spoke.

"What?" Kaidoh hissed, vaulting up from his place by the fire, eyes wide.

"I beg your pardon?" Momoshiro asked. The Viper slugged him not an hour ago and Oishi was deciding to make them room together? Besides that, Momoshiro hadn't roomed with anybody - ever!

"Kaidoh's room is big enough," Oishi continued. "I should know." He looked pointedly at the two of them. "So, tonight, you will share. And don't give me that look young man! Prince Momoshiro is in need our help right now, so the least we can do is be courteous. It's only for one night. I am sure you can manage."

Momoshiro had the odd feeling that Oishi aimed the last half of that speech at both of them, so he didn't argue. Oishi did have a good point. These men were being extremely courteous and generous towards him. By right they could have thrown him and Dan out into the rain and left them to fend for themselves. Instead, they invited them to eat their table after he had royally insulted their 'son' and possibly the men as a whole, and now said men were offering him and Dan sanctuary as a storm wailed outside.

Momoshiro swallowed his pride and looked over at the Viper. "Thank you for the hospitality," he managed.

The Viper glared at him, then at his fathers, each in turn. When none of them gave in to his glare, he hissed, long and low, then nodded his head. He threw another glare at Momoshiro, then turned on his heel and slithered up the stairs, obviously trained not to stomp when he was angered.

"Please, don't mind him," Takishi touched Momo's arm. "He's not very good at expressing emotions, so he comes off as mean and anti-social all the time, but he's really very nice."

"Oh, I see," Momoshiro grated, though he sincerely doubted the animosity the Viper exuded was fake.

* * *

Kaidoh shut the door to his room with as much force as he dared, loud enough to be heard, but not hard enough to send Choutarou or Oishi after him with a scolding. He glared at the polished oak, wondering if he should lock it, but decided against it since he was sure the Prince would complain and that would get him in more trouble than he already was. His hissed at the door, as if that would keep it closed even without locking it, and went to the window seat on the far right side of his room and curled up, glaring out at the almost literal waterfall coming down from on high.

He didn't need to look at his room to know what was there. It was large, just as Papa Inui had said, and Kaidoh really only used half of it, but that did not diminish the fact it was his. Over on the far wall was a pair of carved wooden doors, left neutral since he was a babe so that replacement of the doors would not be necessary as he grew older. Behind them was storage for his older sets of clothing and toys, hidden by a discreet screen. The only items visible in the closet were his boots, tunics, trousers, and any other items of clothing his Papas presented him with that still fit over the years.

The space between was rather bare, save for an elegant carpet laid out over the hard wooden floors, and a small fireplace built into the outside wall to keep him warm at night. A chair and some cushions were nestled before it, and several stacks of books were laid atop the mantle, but other than there was nothing much to look at. Kaidoh mostly used the area for exercising when it rained like today. Other than that it, never came to much use unless he decided he wanted to read before the fire on a cold day, which he usually did downstairs with Papas anyways.

Where he sat was probably the most inhabited part of the room. In the center of the inward wall was his bed, a rather large affair that his Papas had gone overboard when making. It could easily fit two or three people besides himself, the mattress stuffed healthily with straw and goose feathers, the pillows stuffed with goose down, and his blankets – colored green and white – were made of the finest wool his Papas could find. It was summer, so he only had the one green blanket, but the bed still looked far too…ostentatious for his liking sometimes. On either side of the bed stood little nightstands. Kaidoh didn't use the one on the far side closest to the window-wall very often, but the one nearer to the door was occupied by an intricate iron-work lantern, as well as another small stack of books. And where he sat now was another spot his father's went a bit overboard on. The window was set high, but that was so they could include a window seat. It was laid out with a myriad of cushions, pillows, and drapery, easily wide enough to sleep on (with the idea Kaidoh could nap here on sunny days like some sort of cat if he wanted). Kaidoh never admitted out loud it was one of his favorite spots. His Papas got the idea, though, when they came in and usually found him sitting on the window seat, or napping after he'd done his chores.

He continued to sit at the seat, watching the sky grow blacker as the day faded.

Why? Why did he have to share his room with the Prince? That whole tale about there only being one room available was a lie! Kaidoh knew for a fact Eiji did not use his room – he used Oishi's. Niou and Yagyuu was perhaps not a lie. Sometimes they shared, sometimes not. If they were in an off moment, then each man using his own room was no lie. But that did not change the fact there was still one room left on the floor below! There was no reason for him to have share his! He did not deny there was plenty of room to set up another cot or something – but it was the principle of thing! They hadn't even asked! He was sure that ditzy squire would have slept in the stables if it meant the Prince could have a room.

He continued to fume, glaring out at the dismal weather, vaguely aware that it had gotten worse since the last time he checked. It had been a waterfall, now it was nearly a literal wall. The house shook as thunder rumbled, and the sky flared an eye-watering white as lightning raced across the clouds.

Kaidoh grumbled once it got to dark to actually see, and went to his closet, pulling out his night set. It wasn't much – just a long shirt. He stripped and put his clothes in a hamper in the back corner of the closet used for such things, and tugged the shirt over himself. The neck line cut deep, exposing half his chest, and the sleeves came down to half his forearm. The hem danced just barely around the top of his knees. It was sort of girlish, but it kept him cool in the summer, and with the added blankets it kept him warm in winter (surprisingly). He never understood why his Papas only ever gave him such shifts to wear to bed instead of long pants like they wore, but he didn't argue, figuring it would only cause a ruckus he'd rather not go through.

He padded across to his bed, taking off his bandana and folding it carefully, placing it on the nightstand next to him, and slithering under the covers. He reached out and slid the cover of the metal-work lamp down so that the barest glimmer of light shone out and settled down to sleep. He'd have an early day tomorrow checking the damage from the storm with his Papas, so best to go to bed early…

BANG!

Kaidoh reared up, glaring at the door and the man standing in it. The Prince tromped in like he owned the place, closing the door behind him.

"It's a little dark in here, isn't it?" he asked.

Kaidoh's initial hiss got tangled in a snarl as he lifted the shade of the lamp on his bed, casting golden light about the room. The Prince's face brightened with the light and he turned in a slow circle, surveying the room.

"Where do I sleep?" he asked, apparently finally realizing there was only one bed.

Kaidoh jerked his chin towards the window and its window seat, letting a low hiss that said he was not in the mood to argue with the Prince over this. He could share his room, but the Prince would sleep where he told him to!

The Prince went to the seat, his face visibly showing his disapproval at the notion of sleeping there. He opened his mouth, but Kaidoh let out a deeper warning hiss, and the Prince shut his mouth again, lips set in a hard frown.

"Very well," he finally grumbled. "Where might I find a blanket?"

Kaidoh pointed at the closet where the extra blankets were kept on the top shelf. The Prince nodded and went over, opening the doors and quickly locating the pristine white blanket Kaidoh brought out in the colder times of the year. The Prince came over and arranged the seat to his liking, then promptly stripped down to his underclothes. Kaidoh had seven Papas, the sight of a man in his underclothes did not embarrass him in the least, so he continued to glare.

The Prince glared back as he folded his clothes and set them neatly on the floor near the 'head' of his 'bed'. He paused as he considered the best way to get in, then squirmed under the covers and settled down.

"You can turn the light out now," the Prince grumbled.

Kaidoh snapped a sharp hiss in return and did just that – this time pulling the shutter down all the way, the only light coming from the streaks of lightning moving across the clouds ever more frequently. He watched the Prince to make sure he was going to stay where he was, then finally settled down, working out the logic that if the Prince snored he'd have ample enough excuse to strangle him.

Momoshiro clutched at the blanket the Viper indicated he could use earlier. He kept himself curled up in a tight ball, back to the window, blanket wrapped tight around him and head pressed as far into the pillow as it would go.

* * *

He hated storms. He hated thunder. He had lightning. He hated rain that made it hard to see. He hated it all!

Every time thunder sounded and shook the cottage he had to keep himself from letting out a whimper. When lightning screeched, his body shook almost violently and he bit his lip to the point of drawing blood to keep himself from screaming. He knew it was shameful, but he couldn't help it. Whenever a storm came up his mind always recalled the memory of That Day.

He and his mother laughing beneath a gray sky as they cantered ahead of the royal caravan, little Ryoma sitting with his nurse in the royal carriage, no doubt down for his nap. He recalled the Queen's laughter careening over the valley they road through, her arms flung wide to greet the blots of rain beginning to fall…

His mother finally deciding to turn back when the rain began to make it hard to see ahead of them. Her horse rising up to perform a quick trick spin on the back right hindquarter to turn. A crack of lightning. A boom of thunder. A horse's panicked squeal. His mother's cry of surprise. The sound of something hitting the quickly rising waters of the river below.

Momoshiro hugged himself, trying to keep the tears back. He hated storms. He hated them! He hated them! He hated them!

He lay there for what seemed hours, unable to sleep as the clouds voiced their displeasure. He finally uncurled enough to look into the dark room, lightning lighting it up all in silver white, revealing the form of the Viper peacefully unaware of the raging storm, sound asleep in his huge bed.

Momo licked his lips, cringing as thunder boomed behind him. That made up his mind. His movements were masked by the growling of the thunder outside as he left his place on the window seat and went to the Viper's bed. Slowly he pulled back the covers and slid in on the far side, settling down with his back to the storm, facing the Viper's back.

Lightning clawed at the sky and Momoshiro winced, closing his eyes tightly and burrowing further beneath the covers. He pressed his face to the pillow and curled up tightly. Sleeping in a bed rarely made it easier to get through a night of storms, but it was much better than being next to the cold window as the storm raged outside, separated by a few thin centimeters of glass.

He curled up tightly, hugging the pillow he claimed, and prayed that sleep would eventually drown out the murderous sound of the storm.

**End Pt. 4**


	5. Part 5

**Kaidoh and the Seven Tennis Players: Part 5**

Momoshiro shifted, the bedcovers rustling around him. He registered a vague warmth next to him, more than what the bedclothes could provide. A little sound made its way up from the back of his throat as he threw his head up against the pillow and shifted closer into the extra warmth. His arm reflexively tightened against the source, drawing him and it closer.

He came wide awake when the source of the warmth itself shifted closer to him.

Carefully he lowered his eyes to stare at the thing…er, man he was holding. The Viper was cuddled next to him, head pressed to the hollow between neck and shoulder, one hand laying on his chest. He licked his lips, suddenly very aware of the fact his arm was wrapped around the Viper's waist, and that he could feel a pair of strong, muscled legs sliding against his own as the Viper shifted position. He tried to keep from panicking as the Viper's face turned slightly outward, face oddly…beautiful in sleep. His lips were slightly parted as he breathed in and out, black hair tussled from being scraped against the pillows.

Oh, this was not good. Not good at all. First off – Momoshiro really didn't want to be this close to the Viper. Second off – he was pretty sure the Viper had not wanted him to climb into his bed, and if he woke to see them tangled like this…

Momoshiro stiffened as the Viper shifted again and started to rise. Panic claimed Momoshiro and he froze in place, his face dangerously close to the Viper's, and his arm still wrapped around the Viper's waist.

Kaidoh's eyes blinked open.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Momoshiro went flying, dragging half the bedclothes with him. He landed on his rump, head banging against the wood floor so hard it left stars in his vision. When it cleared, all he could see was a very angry young man kneeling in the bed, a pillow raised above his head. Kaidoh's eyes were wide, and Momoshiro could have sworn that the man's eyes had narrowed to snake-like slits. His lips were parted in a snarl, teeth clenched, and hisses issuing forth with such intensity Momoshiro thought that Kaidoh's teeth would be blown out. His body trembled with his rage, and Momoshiro couldn't manage to make himself move – both from panic and from being tangled in the bedclothes.

Thankfully, the door chose that moment to crash open and Kaidoh's attention was momentarily diverted as several pairs of feet clumped in to the room.

"Kaidoh, what's wrong?"

"We heard screaming!"

"And banging!"

"Where's the Prince?"

"Are you all right?"

A hiss of such absolute animosity issued forth from Kaidoh's throat that Momoshiro thought it might have peeled the paint off the royal carriage. He gulped as Kaidoh's attention came back to him, but he never actually lowered the pillow he held aloft onto Momoshiro's person. Instead he held it there, hissing in what Momoshiro assumed was incoherent rage as Oishi and Choutarou came around to help Momoshiro untangle himself.

"Kaidoh, what happened?" Yagyuu demanded as Oishi and Choutarou got Momoshiro situated on the window seat.

"That…bastard was in my bed," Kaidoh managed to force out.

Oishi and Choutarou raised their brows, looking to Momoshiro.

"He was in my bed. He was _touching_ me," Kaidoh continued, body shaking from suppressed rage – or at least that's what Momoshiro thought.

All eyes turned on Momoshiro, who couldn't force his mouth open to deny anything. He had gotten in – but not with bad intentions! He just didn't like sleeping so close to the storm…

"Your Highness?" Yagyuu asked pointedly.

Momoshiro gulped. "I did sleep in the bed, but I didn't try anything!"

"Didn't try anything?" Kaidoh snarled. "It was your arm around me this morning!"

Some of Momoshiro's panic vanished. "Like I meant for it to get there! You would have had to cuddle up to me in the middle of the night!"

"You weren't in the bed to begin with!" Kaidoh barked. "You were on the window seat!"

"Why was he on the window seat?" Oishi demanded.

Kaidoh glared at his father. "You said I had to share my room, not my bed!"

"Like I would even want to share your bed!" Momoshiro snapped.

"As if I'd let you in!" Kaidoh retorted.

"Really? You seemed awfully comfortable snuggled up to me!" Momoshiro shot back.

"You seemed only to happy to keep your arm where it was!" Kaidoh pointed out.

"Enough!"

Both men bit their tongues and turned their attention to Oishi, whose arms were crossed, eyes blazing.

"Enough of this!" he cried. "You two are grown men, but you are acting like children!" Neither of them tried to deny this, just continued to glare. Oishi looked back and forth between them. "Now, listen and listen good. The others and myself are going out to survey the damage from the rain last night. The river swelled quite a bit, so it might take awhile. In that time frame you two will take care of the horses and other animals, as well as clean up any mess in the clearing. You will have all of this done by sundown, and you will do it without arguing! Am I clear?"

Kaidoh snarled and hissed like a mad thing, obviously torn between out right refusing and the knowledge that disobeying would bring worse consequences than just doing it. Momoshiro, for his part, had half a mind to break out his royal authority, until it dawned on him that none of these men gave a wit about it, and that he was deeply indebted to them.

"Fine," they growled at the same time.

Oishi nodded. "Good. Both of you be downstairs for breakfast in ten minutes." That decided, Oishi gave each of them a last pointed look, then led Yagyuu and Choutarou out of the room.

Silence descended, the two men continuing to glare at one another.

"Dress and get out," Kaidoh hissed, slowly lowering his pillow.

Momoshiro didn't need a second urging.

* * *

By some grace of God, neither Kaidoh nor Momoshiro had to work together most of that morning to tend to the animals.

Kaidoh glared and hissed at Momoshiro any time he got within fifteen feet of his personage. After waking up to him, he was not letting that…that…that Pervert Prince anywhere near his person without at least two other witnesses besides that stupid squire! The Pervert Prince had barely known Kaidoh for twelve hours and he'd gotten in bed with him! Of all the nerve!

Kaidoh didn't even want to think about what could have happened. He was so positive that Momoshiro was on the window seat before he slipped off to sleep! That meant Momoshiro could have done…well, anything! Kaidoh was a heavy sleeper, and waking up had never been a strong point for him unless he was severely startled. He wasn't really sure how quickly he would have woken if the Perverted Prince had started anything….

Ugh! No! He couldn't think of things like that! He just couldn't! That Prince was going in the cellar tonight! That was that! Not even his Papas could argue with that after the incident this morning! He would be damned and cast in to the lowest of the nine hells before he let that pervert stay another night in his room!

Fuming, sure that if he had been an animal he'd be frothing at the mouth, he put up the bag of chicken feed he'd used to tend to Choutarou's chickens, and looked at the barn.

He'd been saving the horses for last because they were outside his usual animal care taking routine. He sort of knew how to brush them, and Yagyuu kept a small brush set handy for the times he did bring home a horse. He supposed they probably needed their stalls cleaned; water buckets refilled, and needed to eat breakfast. Kaidoh felt that normally the squire would be handling all of this, but somehow Choutarou got the kid to agree to dust and clean the house and make lunch, since the squire seemed capable with a knife and spatula.

Grumbling, he went to the barn and slid open the doors, glaring at the massive beast the Pervert Prince claimed. Sniffing, he ignored the animal and went instead to Dan's dainty white mare, which whickered with perked ears as he stepped into her stall with the spare halter Yagyuu fashioned the other night for her. He slipped it over her head and led her out of the stall, cross-tying the mare and going back to clean out her stall.

He'd just finished rinsing out her water bucket when the Pervert Prince walked in. Instantly Kaidoh tensed and let out the most dangerous hiss he could. The Prince raised a corner of his lip at Kaidoh, but otherwise ignored him, moving to take care of his massive brute of an animal. They worked in an awkward and blood lust charged silence – Momoshiro cleaning out Duncan's stall, and Kaidoh brushing Dan's mare to a healthy sparkle.

Kaidoh looked up from his combing when he caught the sound of metal and leather jingling. The Pervert Prince was saddling his beast, but Kaidoh didn't spot the travel packs that meant he was leaving. Damn.

"Where are going?" he demanded in a lethal hiss.

Momoshiro glared at him as he cinched the girth strap, "To exercise Duncan."

"You idiot, you can't go riding!" Kaidoh snapped.

"Why ever not?" Momoshiro demanded.

Kaidoh snorted. "Because when it rains hard like it did last night the ground around here gets super soft and muddy and stays that way for days."

"The point?" Momoshiro pressed.

"The point is you'll end up hurting your horse, you pervert!" Kaidoh growled. "He'll sink to his knees in mud! And you don't know how much the river's swelled either!"

"Then, Oh Superior One, why don't you come riding with me and show me your superior woodcraft skills?" Momoshiro demanded with narrowed eyes.

Kaidoh was taken aback by the demand. He managed to hold down biting his lip or saying something that would get him in a heap of trouble. The truth was he couldn't ride. Sure he'd help Yagyuu take care of the random horses he sometimes brought in, but he never rode any of them!

Momoshiro's lips twisted in to a conceited smirk. "You can't ride, can you?"

"Why would I need to learn?" Kaidoh demanded. "We don't exactly have miles of open road and country out here!"

Momoshiro's lips remained in their smirk. "You're jealous because you can't ride!"

"I am not!"

"Yes you are!"

"I am not, you perverted prince!"

"Then get on and ride with me!"

"Fine you bastard!"

The two stopped their shouting match, chests heaving. The horses, for their part, just stood where they were, ears flicking back and forth as each man yelled in turned. Duncan, in fact, looked utterly bored with the whole affair.

Momoshiro laughed. "Alright! You agreed!" he pointed a finger at Kaidoh. "Get your riding gear on!"

Kaidoh felt the blood rush to his cheeks as he gritted his teeth. How did he let himself get in to this mess? He snarled at the prince, but knew that he had no choice. If he didn't go, he'd loose face. And that he refused to do! No way was he letting some pampered, perverted prince get the better of him! He unhooked Dan's mare and put her back in her stall, then stood before Momoshiro and glared.

"Let's do this," he hissed.

Momoshiro grinned with an almost wicked air and led Duncan out into the damp sunlight. The mammoth stood patiently as Momoshiro knelt and cupped his hands. Kaidoh glared at him, but he wasn't stupid. He knew what was supposed to happen. He stepped forward and gripped the saddle, placing his left foot in Momoshiro's hands. Momoshiro surged up, nearly sending Kaidoh face first into the mushy ground on the other side of Duncan. He flailed, and only managed to right himself in the saddle when Momoshiro grabbed his ankle and hauled him in to the correct position.

Kaidoh glared down at Momoshiro as the Prince took Duncan's reins and led the beast to the picnic table. Kaidoh clung to the saddle, willing his body to move in time with the horse's steps as his glare bore holes in the Prince's back. He knew the man was laughing at him! He had to be! Well, he would show him! How, he wasn't sure, but he would!

Momoshiro lined Duncan up, stuck his foot in the stirrup, and pulled himself up behind Kaidoh with relative ease. Kaidoh's cheeks flushed, jealous at the sheer grace of the movement. Not that he thought Momoshiro was graceful! But the mount had certainly not been half as sloppy as his had.

Kaidoh stiffened as Momoshiro's arms came around him, taking up Duncan's reins in his hands. The Pervert Prince clicked his tongue, and Kaidoh felt the Prince's thighs squeeze the horse – which also made him aware of how close they were. If they had been wound tightly together in bed this morning – well, this was closer. Kaidoh instantly regretted agreeing to this, but backing out now was an impossibility. He would never let this arrogant jerk win!

Duncan plowed through the forest, hooves making sucking noises as they lifted from the mud. Kaidoh attempted to relax, but he was just so high _up_, and Duncan's movements were less than smooth as he struggled through the muck. More than once he was thrown back against Momoshiro, who was keeping his seat just fine behind Kaidoh. Kaidoh's cheeks flushed each time he got thrown back, his mind making the mental note that Momoshiro was better built than he thought. He quickly banished such thoughts, remembering that that well built man had nearly violated him last night. He gripped the saddle with white knuckles and ground his teeth, refusing to let Momoshiro sense how uncomfortable he was.

He kept his eyes downward as they rode, somehow attempting to time his body's movements with the horse's by watching it walk. As he watched, he noticed the ground getting a peculiar shine to it, and the sound of running, fierce water growing closer.

"Prince, we should turn back," he said, for a moment forgetting he was pissed at the man.

"Whatever for?" Momoshiro scoffed.

He turned to glare at the him. "Because, you idiot, we're headed straight for the river and it's flooded!"

Momoshiro cocked his head and listened. "Tch, it's a ways off," he shook his head.

"No, you bastard, it's coming up and fast!" Kaidoh insisted, looking down, sure that Duncan was sloshing through river water.

"It can't have flooded that bad!" Momoshiro argued.

"You don't know this forest like I do!" Kaidoh countered.

"Whatev-" Momoshiro began, but was cut off as Duncan suddenly sank nearly to his knees in mud, throwing both Kaidoh and Momoshiro forward in the saddle. Momoshiro's arm instinctively went around Kaidoh's waist to keep him on the horse, and Kaidoh silently thanked him for it.

The horse shrieked in panic, gathering his haunches beneath him and surging up, forelegs coming out of the mud with a wet squelching sound. The surge carried them through a final tangle of brambles that stood in their way. Duncan screamed and ground to a halt, Kaidoh once again glad for Momoshiro's arm as he was thrown forward, pelvis painfully hitting the front of the saddle, his nose nearly meeting the same fate upon Duncan's neck.

"Holy…," Momoshiro breathed.

Kaidoh opened his eyes and his jaw dropped. Duncan stood in water half way up to his knees, and Kaidoh knew for a fact that where Duncan was standing happened to be one of the sheerest drops down to the banks of the river. The river growled and snarled, rushing past them, filled with sticks and debris. Kaidoh felt his gorge rise as he spotted the corpses of several small animals.

"We need to go back," he said quietly. He knew that Duncan had room to go about a hundred feet before the ground would begin to slope and take them into dangerous waters towards the right, and to the left they had less than fifty. Neither choice sounded good. "Momoshiro, turn this damn horse around!" Kaidoh snarled, turning to look back at the prince.

Kaidoh's heart skipped a beat when he saw the look of sheer terror and panic on Momoshiro's face. The Prince was staring straight at the water, face ghostly pale and eyes wide. The pupils had contracted to mere dots, and his jaw was clenched. Kaidoh winced as he felt Momoshiro's arm tighten around him, and he glanced down at the reins – Momoshiro's knuckles were bone white.

Well, damn. This wasn't good. Kaidoh didn't know why, but Momoshiro was practically useless. He looked down at the reins, debating. He didn't know how to ride, but steering seemed simple enough. You turned the horse's head the way you wanted to go and they went, right? He grimaced and grasped the reins in his hands, having to lay one hand over Momoshiro's in order to accomplish that since the prince held his part of the reins in a death grip.

"Please, Duncan, do as I say," he pleaded with the animal beneath him as he pulled sharply on the left rein.

Duncan threw up his head at the sudden jerk, but didn't do anything stupid like buck. Kaidoh urged Duncan on as best he could, the horse warily picking its way through the water. Once they'd gone about forty steps he turned Duncan towards the woods and clicked his tongue like Momoshiro had, urging the beast on.

Duncan hesitated a moment, taking a dangerous step back. Kaidoh's heart fluttered in panic and he kicked. Duncan squealed and suddenly gathered his massive bulk, leaping forward. Kaidoh was thrown back, slamming into Momoshiro as Duncan literally leapt over the brush, water spraying as he landed on the other side. A frightened whinny escaped Duncan's throat as his momentum carried him on, stumbling dangerously as mud sucked at his hooves, throwing Kaidoh and Momoshiro against each other again and again.

Kaidoh clung to the reins and squeezed his thighs with all his might, dutifully ignoring Momoshiro's uncomfortably tight grip on his waist as he attempted to guide the panicked animal through the wood (which wasn't going so well). He just clung for all he was worth, directing Duncan around a tree now and then, but other than that proving worthless.

Finally they burst into the clearing the cottage sat in. Duncan slowed and stopped of his own will, body trembling and coat lathered in white foam. Kaidoh let out a sigh and sagged back against Momoshiro. It took him a minute to realize that the prince's body was trembling.

He sat up and looked back over his shoulder, mouth nearly dropping and his heart wrenching. Momoshiro still wore that same look of terror, pupils tiny pinpricks and seeing something not in the world. His lips were parted to reveal his gritted teeth, and tears streamed down in his face in unchecked streams. No sobs or sniffles escaped the man, but his body continued to tremble and his grip remained deathly firm.

What the hell?

"Prince?" Kaidoh asked.

That seemed to bring Momoshiro back from whatever place he was in. His body jerked violently, and he looked down at Kaidoh, than at Duncan. Quickly he wiped his eyes and slung down from the saddle.

"Jesus, what did you do to Duncan?" he demanded, cheeks still bearing tear trails. "You've nearly foundered him, you stupid Viper!"

Kaidoh couldn't find it in himself to hiss back.

**End Pt. 5**

* * *

As always, please remember to R&R! Thank you! :)


	6. Part 6

**Kaidoh and the Seven Tennis Players: Part 6**

"I'm afraid we have some bad news," Yagyuu spoke up over dinner than evening.

Momoshiro paused, fork halfway to his mouth. This did not bode well.

In fact, his hopes had only been plummeting as the seven men took longer and longer to return throughout the day. Kaidoh and he finished the damage clean up just after noon, Dan providing simple, but edible sandwiches for their lunch. That left the three of them at sort of a stand still. Dan escaped the confines of the house on the excuse he wished to exercise his mare, which he did within the clearing on orders of Kaidoh, who warned him of the dangers of the river.

Momoshiro had to bite his tongue as Kaidoh gave his warning. To be honest, he owed Kaidoh more thanks than he had to give. He remembered the ride up to the point they got the river, and then everything had…faded.

He wasn't the Crown Prince Momoshiro of Hyotei, eighteen and one of the most eligible bachelors on the continent. He was Prince Momo, darling son of the Queen and King Atobe. He could hear his guards chasing after him as he urged his horse faster through the damn drizzle, eyes locked on the raging river, looking for any sign of his mother. He was a terrified little boy screaming at the top of his lungs when he spotted the carcass of his mother's riding mare, trapped between a pile of logs and a boulder, tongue lolling out and eyes sightless. Then he was a little boy, terrified and going into shock, cradling his mother's head, her body beaten and mangled. He recalled the sound of screaming and the taste of salt, knowing in the back of his mind it was his tears he tasted and his own screams he heard.

Ever since then he could not stand storms or powerful rivers. Storms kept him awake, brought back those memories so long ago, and powerful rivers made him freeze up, unable to move or act, reduced to a screaming child of six years, unable to cope with the tragedy placed before him. If Kaidoh had not taken control then he dared not think what might have happened when Duncan chose his own course of action.

Kaidoh, for whatever reason, did not comment on the scene at the river. He had just dismounted and helped Momoshiro take care of Duncan. There was no hissing, no glares…nothing. The Viper remained quiet and on the other side of Duncan, as if avoiding him. Well, that was fine with Momoshiro. He didn't exactly want to talk about the river.

"The river has destroyed part of the bridge," Inui explained. "It will take several days to fix it, assuming the river goes back down to normal levels any time soon."

"Why do you need a bridge? Isn't the river shallow enough to wade across at points, desu?" Dan asked.

Inui pushed his glasses up a bit. "Well, that is true. The bridge spans a deeper part of the river, and is also laid out on a direct route to the main roadway that leads to the capital. You can cross at the numerous shallow points, but those points are usually deeper inside these woods and much further from the road."

Momoshiro's brows furrowed as he digested this new piece of information. At this point there was no way for them to cross anyways. He shuddered at the memory of the rushing river. It would be easier to wait for the river to recede and cross, but by Inui's calculations it would take longer to reach the main road, and chances were they would get lost. The bridge, on the other hand, seemed to lead directly to a trail that ran to the main thoroughfare and would cut their travel time, maybe enough to make up for the delay from the rain storm. Either way, they were stuck here for the next few days.

"I suppose we are at your mercy then," Momoshiro repeated his conclusion aloud.

"So it would seem," Yagyuu noted.

"You are more than welcome," Choutarou assured him. "It is not hard to feed all of us, and the room arrangements have worked out, have they not?"

Momoshiro's eyebrows rose. Apparently Choutarou decided to ignore this morning's fiasco. He looked to Kaidoh, who avoided his gaze and let out a resigned hiss. Choutarou beamed, so apparently the hiss had not meant Kaidoh was arguing anything.

"For now Prince, you, Kaidoh, and your squire should remain around the house," Oishi cautioned. "The rest of us will go and fix the bridge as soon as possible. The river should calm down by tomorrow – enough so that we can clean up most of the debris."

Momoshiro nodded his understanding, though he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing for the days he was actually stuck here. His gaze wandered back over to the Viper, who remained splayed out in his chair, looking….well, not sullen, but as if something bothered him. Well, at least he wasn't spitting hisses and throwing a temper tantrum. That was a plus.

"So, how does Chicken a la Ban sound for dinner?" Oishi asked.

Momoshiro just continued to watch Kaidoh as cheers went up around him.

* * *

"Any news of the Prince?" Tezuka asked in the still of his kingly chambers.

Fuji sighed as he ran a brush through his king's hair, taking pride in the fact he was the only person Tezuka allowed to fawn over him like this. He didn't get to do it often, but Tezuka was allowing him the opportunity today and Fuji did not intend to pass it over.

"He is safe, Majesty," Fuji replied as he pulled the comb through Tezuka's luxuriously soft hair.

There came a pause. "Tezuka, Magician."

Fuji let his serene smile take on a warmer cast as he set the comb down and wound his arms around Tezuka's shoulders. "He is safe, Tezuka," he repeated, lips close to his monarch's ear. "He will be delayed though."

Tezuka turned his face towards Fuji, almost nose to nose with the magician. "Delayed?"

"Yes," Fuji reached up, running his fingers through Tezuka's hair idly. "His way is blocked by a river, which flooded due to last night's rain. It will take a few days for the water's to recede enough for him to cross it safely."

"Where exactly is he?"

"That I do not know," Fuji admitted.

Yuuta had tried to scry for more details, but came up empty-handed. He got images of the Prince with that bloody bastard child, but nothing more. Fuji could hazard an educated guess he was somewhere in the Tokyo Forest if the bastard child was still alive, but exactly where within its magical borders was not something he could pinpoint. The Forest itself threw off such attempts.

"But he is safe?" Tezuka repeated.

Fuji shook his head with his serene smile. He came out from behind Tezuka, sliding into the King's lap and cupping his cheeks. He opened his eyes, staring up at his King with his own blue orbs. "Trust me. He is safe," Fuji repeated with all seriousness.

Of course, that depended on what one defined 'safe' as. To Fuji, the Prince was actually in grave danger. Well, to be more precise, the people the Prince was associating with put Fuji in grave danger. Technically speaking, the Prince was being well taken care of and was, to Fuji's knowledge, unharmed in either mind or body. Still, that did not change the fact the Prince currently resided with a child that should have died eighteen years ago.

Therefore, until Fuji could devise a proper way to take care of the problem, the Prince would remain safe, but be delayed. Fuji gave five or six days for the river that ran through the forest to calm. If he had no clear cut away to take care of his sister's child by then, then perhaps another rain storm was in order. But that was only if Fuji could not find a solution, and the magician was sure he could. For now, the five or six day delay was enough, and short enough to keep Tezuka was from worrying over much.

Fuji smiled reassuringly at his king, though that smile held a slight acidic feel beneath that dared Tezuka to challenge his words. Tezuka looked back at him without so much as twitching. Most people did not like Fuji so near; especially when he nailed them with the sort of look he was giving Tezuka. The king finally nodded his quiet acceptance and wrapped his arms around Fuji's waist, holding the magician slightly closer.

Fuji smiled, letting his arms slide around Tezuka's neck. It was not often he and the king had the opportunity to be so…close. The court accepted Tezuka's marriage to Fuji's sister, but it was imperative that Fuji and Tezuka keep their current relationship hush-hush or else Tezuka could possibly loose the support of key courtiers. It sometimes made their relationship difficult, but Fuji could deal with it.

"So, Ryuzaki gave you the morning clear?" Fuji murmured against Tezuka's lips.

"She should not have," Tezuka replied, hands squeezing Fuji's waist.

Fuji's smile widened in to a real grin. He would have to remember to make something special for Ryuzaki Sumire, the King's chief secretary, and therefore the person that made his schedule. Tezuka might be willing to run himself into the ground, but Ryuzaki was not willing to let him do so, and she was also one of the few people aware of Tezuka's amorous affair with Fuji (how could she not be when Fuji had to pass by here every night to enter Tezuka's chambers and had to pass her again to exit the next morning?). She was discreet and never said anything (though she sometimes teased them both about it), and worked in evenings and mornings Tezuka could have free to do with as pleased, then told Fuji of them. Yes, Fuji would have to make something nice for her. A new set of earrings, perhaps? Or would she like a new bracelet or ring?

Warm, soft lips pressed to his own, and all thoughts about Ryuzaki's gift fled Fuji's mind.

* * *

Kaidoh lay on his bed, staring at his ceiling.

He'd escaped shortly after dinner to his room, snagging a piece of Takashi's apple crumb cake along the way. It wasn't that he didn't want to be downstairs in the company of his fathers; it was just that the Prince was there.

To be honest with himself, Kaidoh had to admit he didn't know how to act around the Prince anymore. It had been easy to be surly and rude, letting anger coat every word or action. It wasn't like the Prince had tried to do anything less. But images from earlier that day kept running through Kaidoh's mind, a never ending stream. His heart skipped a beat as the image of Momoshiro's face slid in, panicked and defenseless; then when he had been crying, still unseeing, mouth open and speechless.

How was he supposed to react after seeing that? Lord all mighty, he didn't even know what had caused the reaction. He had a sneaking suspicion it had to do with why the Prince had slipped in to his bed last night. He still wasn't happy the Prince had done something like that, but as he thought about it part of his anger slipped away.

For one, he couldn't really blame Momoshiro for waking up in the position they did. Kaidoh had been a bit of a 'snuggle-bunny' (as Choutarou once called him) as a toddler. As a child he would go and sleep in one of his father's beds when he got scared at night, and had reportedly kept very, very close to each of them through the night. He didn't realize he'd kept the habit. And when Kaidoh analyzed Momoshiro's reaction to the swelled river, he surmised that the Prince carried a dislike of water, and possibly rain storms. He didn't honestly think the Prince would crawl in his bed on a vengeful whim (at least not without getting something hilarious out of it), so that said he either hated window-seats with a passion, or he didn't like storms. Kaidoh put his money on the later option.

He glanced out of his window, the sky still as clear as it had been that morning. Thankfully a day of sun had dried off most of the cottage's grounds, but it had done little for the river. Inui and Takashi went to go check on the river one more time shortly after dinner, but came back with shakes of their heads. The river still flowed strong, and they both cautioned that attempting any sort of clean-up before noon tomorrow invited disaster. None of the others argued, and Kaidoh was sure that the Prince's face had paled to a sickly white. None of his fathers noticed, however, and the young squire kept his trap shut. Kaidoh followed the little one's example and did the same.

He gave up on attempting to figure out the reasons behinds the Prince's behavior and rolled to his feet, heading for the center of his room. All of the excitement from earlier made him restless, the problem of the Prince even more so. He stripped off his tunic and boots, leaving on only his trousers and sat down. With minimal grunts and hisses he began stretching – reaching for his toes, the butterfly pose, pulling his shoulders back, the usual routine.

"What are you doing?"

Kaidoh jumped, lurching to his feet and turned quickly. The Prince was seated on the bed, looking ragged. He'd already stripped off his boots and expensive jerkin, leaving only tunic and pants. As Kaidoh stared him, he suddenly realized the Prince didn't look so different from him without any of that ridiculous royal regalia he had.

"Stretching," Kaidoh hissed finally.

"What for? Didn't you get enough exercise on Duncan?" the Prince asked, lips quirking in a smirk.

Kaidoh almost rose to the bait, but his mind summoned up images of Duncan careening through the woods at break neck speed, water sloshing around the animal's hooves, Kaidoh holding on for dear life, and the Prince's blank face, lost somewhere Kaidoh could not reach him. He snapped his mouth shut with a click of teeth and swallowed a hiss, turning away from the Prince and continuing his stretching.

"What…what happened at the-" the Prince paused and Kaidoh heard an audible gulp, "…the river?"

Kaidoh pulled his left arm up behind his head, back to the Prince. "What do you mean?"

"What happened?" the Prince repeated.

"What do you think happened?" Kaidoh hissed.

"If I knew I wouldn't be asking you!" the Prince shot back.

"Can't you put together what happened yourself?" Kaidoh demanded.

A frustrated growl came from the Prince's direction. "God damn it, tell me what happened!"

Kaidoh hissed low and dangerously. "You made yourself look like a fool is what you did."

There was no immediate response, and for a moment Kaidoh thought he'd hit a special nerve or something on the Prince. All such thoughts vanished when he felt strong hands grasp his shoulders and twist him around, almost painfully. He came face to face with Prince Momoshiro, his face dark, teeth clenched, and hands squeezing Kaidoh's arms almost as hard as Takashi had when he'd scared his father by climbing on a bookshelf and nearly falling.

"Tell me what happened," the Prince demanded with deadly calm.

Kaidoh glared right back at Momoshiro, nearly nose to nose with him, letting a growling hiss bubble up from his chest and move past his lips with lethal promise. The Prince did not back down and held Kaidoh, and Kaidoh realized that the Prince was easily a match for him in terms of strength.

"Tell me what happened," the Prince repeated, squeezing a littler harder.

Kaidoh snarled at the extra pressure and stepped in, spinning on the ball of his foot. The Prince was thrown off by the unexpected motion, but the move did not immediately dislodge him. In fact, it unbalanced him. He stepped forward, and Kaidoh realized too late that as he moved to do another spin his foot would get caught up with the Prince's. That was exactly what happened too.

Kaidoh grunted as he fell to the floor, thankful for the plush carpets his fathers insisted he keep in the room. Nonetheless, it knocked some of the wind out of him and left stars before his eyes as his head made contact with the floor. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the sensation, and started to rise…only to find he couldn't.

The surge of anger made the last spots fade and he glared upwards at none other than the Prince, who was straddling his hips and had taken hold of Kaidoh's wrist, planting his arms above his head. Against a wall Kaidoh might have been able to use his own weight to through Momoshiro off, but on the ground and with the Prince having the upper hand that was impossible. So all he could do was wriggle and growl, almost tempted to spit in the Prince's face, but knowing it would only enrage the man further, and Kaidoh would rather not be on the receiving end of one of the Prince's punches.

Momoshiro lowered his face so he cast a dark shadow over Kaidoh. "Tell me what happened," he insisted.

Kaidoh kept his mouth firmly shut and wriggled, trying to thrust his hips against Momoshiro's thighs in an attempt to knock him off. The Prince merely shifted his weight and squeezed his knees tighter around Kaidoh's waist and restricted his movements. Kaidoh finally relaxed into the carpet and glared at up at the Prince, hissing like a devil.

"Why do you want to know so badly?" he snapped.

The Prince's face darkened, but his hold on Kaidoh never lessened. "I just need to know."

Kaidoh watched the Prince's face, suddenly struck by how…scared the man looked. That was the only way to describe the lines etching the man's face, the tight set of his lips and the flaring of his nostrils as he held Kaidoh down. He was scared – not of Kaidoh, but of something…else.

"You froze," Kaidoh said at last.

"Excuse me?"

"You froze," Kaidoh repeated venomously. "I don't know. You just…you weren't there anymore. I tried to wake you up or something, but nothing I did worked. So I took Duncan's reigns and turned him back and let him gallop on home."

"That's all?" Momoshiro pressed.

"Yes, that's all. You finally came back to this world after I saved your ass," Kaidoh spat.

Momoshiro grip on Kaidoh's wrists tightened to a painful degree for a few seconds, then vanished as the Prince rose off Kaidoh and went to the window seat. He pulled off his tunic and flung it down to crumple in a defeated heap on the floor, crawling into his makeshift bed and curling up, hugging himself as he kept his back to Kaidoh.

Outside the moon had rose above the tree line, luminous on such a clear night. It cast silvery light into the room, melding with the golden glow of Kaidoh's metal lantern box and turning the light in the room a dusky gray.

Kaidoh glared at the Prince's back, but couldn't keep the glare on his face. He let out a muted sigh and went to his closet, pulling on his bedclothes. When he turned back, the Prince was still curled up, facing the window and the clear night. Kaidoh slipped beneath the covers of his bed and reached out, tugging down the lantern and casting the room into silvery darkness. He set his bandanna aside and lay down, this time facing the Prince to keep an eye on him. Though, he reflected, he doubted the Prince would get in with him this time. After all, it was not raining tonight.

As he fell asleep, Kaidoh wondered why it was that the thought did not bring him comfort.

**End of Pt. 6**


	7. Part 7

**Kaidoh and the Seven Tennis Players: Part 7**

"Yuuta, do you think you're up to another scrying?"

Fuji looked expectantly at the mirror hanging on the wall, which was currently in its blank, reflective state. After several elongated moments the mirror clouded, and an image began to form. Fuji pursed his lips. He really wished Yuuta would wait for him to ask what he wanted scryed, but as the image focused he decided to let it go.

Dear, sweet Prince Momoshiro appeared in the glass, and right next to him was that bastard his sister gave birth to. Fuji glared at the image, as if by glaring he could make some unspeakable horror befall his sister's child, but (alas) he didn't have such power. The two were by the now much calmer river – the Prince astride his massive draft animal, and the bastard child looking uncomfortable astride a white mare. That did not bode well. A horse meant travel, and traveling meant the Prince might get it into his head to have his new friend come to the capital with him. Well, that was assuming the two were friends. Fuji deduced they were by the look of easy familiarity on the Prince's face which came from a rather extended period of time in the boy's presence no doubt – it _had_ been nearly six days since he arrived there, and since the bastard was the only person the Prince's age he assumed the Prince had attached himself to the boy.

"Thank you, Yuuta," Fuji said, and the image fled away like mist before sunlight. Yuuta's image appeared briefly in the mirror. He smiled wearily and waved, then fled back to the recesses of his prison.

Fuji turned away from the mirror and went back to his workbench, regarding the several spell books laid out there. Six days he had toiled over his dilemma, and for six days he had come up with little or no results. He had a vague idea of what he wanted to do – of what he could do – but executing said idea was another matter entirely.

Fuji knew people considered him to be the epitome of an evil genius now and then, but he was not without mercy. While Fuji harbored extreme distaste for his sister's actions before the wedding, he knew that taking out his full anger on the bastard child was…extreme. It was not the poor boy's fault. However, the boy was a living, breathing, talking secret: the one about his sister's unfaithfulness. While Fuji did not give a damn what happened to his sister (people should suffer the consequences of their actions, after all), he cared very much for his King. For that reason and that reason alone he could keep his sister's secret, and that meant ensuring her child did not appear anywhere near Tezuka. The boy was, technically, his nephew however. For that, Fuji granted him mercy. He would not kill him, but he would still make sure he could never actively interfere with Tezuka or Fuji's lives.

The idea sprang from an old fairy tale called Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. In it, the wicked stepmother was jealous of her stepdaughter's beauty. She wished to be the fairest in the land, so she attempted to kill her stepdaughter. For many years she thought the girl dead, and her magic mirror told her has much. But one day, the mirror decreed the girl was not dead and was back in the land, and the queen was no longer the most beautiful. Enraged, she set out to get rid of her stepdaughter, and brought her a poisoned apple. The step-daughter, gullible and idiotic child that she was, gladly took the apple from the crone and fell into a deep, permanent sleep. As in most fairy-tales, she was saved by Prince Charming, but Fuji disregarded that bit.

What he cared about was the sleeping poison. He was sure the apple – if fully eaten – was meant to kill Snow White, but the basic principle was the same. If he could put the bastard child to sleep for a very extended or even permanent amount of time, his problems were solved. The question was how to do it?

He could not (and would not) turn himself into a crone to make his way into the woods and hand over an apple. It was far too risky, and unlike the woods in the Snow White tale, the Tokyo Forest was enchanted. Fuji might be a magician, but even he respected the power that moved through Tokyo Forest and did not wish to combat it personally. So, that left several options, the best of which was a vessel.

Now, he had several spell books on how to create and control vessels, but they were usually storehouses for power and did not actively move on their own. Most of the time they were things like lamps or rings or wands – objects that were moved by the user and activated through a key word of some kind. This would never do for his purposes.

As for the sleeping spell – he had several. In fact, he had a small spell-book on them. The page of one such spell-book was opened to the most potent – a spell called Nightmare Syndrome. It sounded worse than it was. It simply put a target to sleep indefinitely, and allowed the caster to inflict unimaginable physiological pain through the use of nightmares on said target. Of course, if Fuji didn't do such a thing then the target would just dream dreams – nightmares, happy ones, wet ones, any kind a person could dream. The other spells had time limits that were far to short for Fuji's tastes, and Fuji was not one for taking chances either.

That still left two problems: getting the spell there and casting it on the boy. In light of these problems he'd taken extra precautions and cast another weather spell to summon more rain that would arrive around dusk or true nightfall. It would not be as bad as the storm he'd summoned last time, but it would swell the river once more and take at least three days to settle. He was sure he could figure something out by then and not raise Tezuka's suspicions.

He sighed and reached out, flipping the page of the vessel spell book, when he caught the excited tramping of feet up his tower stairs. They grew closer and louder, and finally a brutal, rude bang sounded on his door.

"Lord Magician! Lord Magician!"

Fuji rubbed his temples and plastered his serene smile on his face. "Enter," he called.

The door opened and Fuji spotted an absolute bevy of people behind the apparent leader (most of them women – including the leader). Fuji recognized her as the head chef, a ruddy lady with a permanently red face and even redder hair.

"Lord Magician!" she panted. "We need your help!"

"I gathered," Fuji replied coolly with his false smile.

The head chef paled a trifle, but kept her ground. Impressive. "There's an infestation of snakes in the herb and vegetable gardens and none of my boys or girls will go out and gather 'em for tonight's dinner. And no matter 'ow many we kill, they all come back!"

Fuji kept an annoyed frown under control as he rose and went to his cabinet to find something to get ride of said 'infestation' without him having to do anything. But as he pondered the problem, his ire turned to glee.

He turned carefully around and faced the crowd, letting a genuine smile part his lips to show his perfect teeth. "I think I have just the thing, ladies," he cooed to them and came forward, ushering them down the stairs. "Show me these insolent snakes."

* * *

"Okay, we're going trot back home," Momoshiro warned Kaidoh. "Think you're ready for that?"

To tell the truth, no, Kaidoh was far from ready. But he had a stupid little thing called pride, and it would not allow him to say as much. He glared up at Momoshiro (who remained perpetually taller than Kaidoh astride the massive Duncan) and hissed from between his lips.

Momoshiro laughed. "Well, if you say so," he shrugged and clicked his tongue.

Duncan shook his head and leapt into a brisk trot, his legs eating up the ground like Momoshiro ate Taka's tuna sushi. Kaidoh took a deep breath and grasped the reins firmly in his hands before squeezing Akutsu's sides and clicking his tongue as loud as he could. Akutsu didn't need much urging since her partner in crime was already moving ahead of her, and her slim little body jolted into a trot.

"Remember to post!" Momoshiro admonished Kaidoh as the little mare drew even with the draft cross.

Kaidoh wanted to snap something in return, but decided against it and began to rise and fall with the step of Akutsu's forelegs. It was difficult work – his thighs already burned from the previous hour and a half they had spent riding, and it would be another thirty or more back to the cottage. The mere thought of trotting for thirty minutes (which Momo made sure Kaidoh was well aware the mare was capable for handling) made his thighs turn to jelly.

For whatever reason, five days ago (after the fight he and Momoshiro had where Momoshiro pinned him to the floor) Momoshiro had begun trying to be more civil. Or at least that was what Kaidoh thought. He be honest he didn't feel half as upset having the Prince around as he did the first two days. Maybe it had something to do with seeing Momoshiro so exposed and vulnerable during the river fiasco, but the point was that he and Momoshiro got along better.

Oh, they still had fights. They fought at least three times a day. The fights never came to blows anymore, and when Kaidoh looked back over them he realized they were over the stupidest things, and he almost had the urge to laugh at them – almost. (He would never be able to laugh at the fight over Momoshiro finding the portrait of Kaidoh as a small child, back when his fathers had a fascination with dressing Kaidoh up like a girl. That was the one thing he might never forgive Momoshiro for, or Niou for that matter since his Papa had shown Momo the portrait to begin with). Something else he came to realize was that the Prince was starting to understand the language of his hissing. He had trouble interpreting some hisses – like when Momoshiro had woken him up extra early on orders of Oishi and Kaidoh kept insisting it was too early to wake up and Momoshiro should leave him alone through hissing. Momo interpreted it as angry hissing, and they'd gotten into a fight.

All that being said, three days ago Kaidoh finally felt comfortably enough to approach the Prince one morning while they tended the horses, and asked for riding lessons. The near disaster with the river was enough to convince Kaidoh he should at least learn, just in case, you know? At first the Prince teased him, resulting in another fight, but in the end they somehow made up and the Prince agreed to teach him.

The first day had been easy. Momoshiro taught him how to saddle the horse and care for it, getting Dan's permission for Kaidoh to use Akutsu for the lessons. The mare cooperated, as if sensing how utterly inexperienced Kaidoh was, and Kaidoh caught on quick enough. Of course, thinking back on it all, he had to wonder how he had managed to not bite Momoshiro's head off. A lot of the lessons involved Momoshiro coming in close contact – guiding his hands as he moved through the tacking up process and checking Akutsu for injuries before riding. And as he thought about, he realized the contact hadn't been that bad….

Well, anyways, day two had been worse. Momoshiro watched Kaidoh tack and check Akutsu properly, then helped Kaidoh into the saddle and away then went. It was just around the edges of the clearing, but it was still semi-terrifying. He didn't have Momoshiro's strong arm around him this time to help him keep his balance, and one needed a whole new set of skills to stay in the saddle properly. Thankfully, both Akutsu and Momoshiro were patient with him, walking and trotting around the clearing for hours until Momoshiro got the hang of it – barely. He let Momoshiro have the bath first that night as a show of thanks, since Momoshiro had to be much sorer than he was since he had led Akutsu around the clearing for quite a few hours just to teach him to ride.

And so now it found him and Momoshiro taking a ride through the woods. The ground was still a bit soggy, but the river had receded down to normal, safe levels and his fathers so no reason to forbid a leisurely ride since Kaidoh and Momoshiro finished their chores early. They walked to the banks of the river, then trotted up and down its length for some time, and walked again. For nearly an hour and a half they had done this, and Kaidoh's legs were suffering. He couldn't imagine doing this for days on end in a journey across two nations!

Akutsu suddenly whickered and quickened her pace, startling Kaidoh. He made an annoyed-startled hissing sound, like a snake interrupted from its nap, and pulled back on the reins, but Akutsu would have none of it. She shook her head and lengthened her stride, eating up more ground and pulling ahead of Duncan, head held high and ears forward as Kaidoh caught the first glimpses of the cottage between the trees.

"Kaidoh! Sit up straight and pull back!" Momoshiro called.

Yeah, Kaidoh had already tried that and looked back, glowering and hissing to say as much. Momoshiro's face turned into a frown, and Kaidoh knew he was catching up by the thick clomping of Duncan's hooves. He turned his attention back to Akutsu, pulling desperately back on the reins. Akutsu snorted her disapproval and did a sort of bunny-hop, unbalancing Kaidoh and forcing him to abandon any semblance of control and cling to his saddle with hands and thighs.

Akutsu, no doubt realizing Kaidoh had left the mare in control, shook her head and whinnied, breaking into a canter. This time Kaidoh couldn't hold back a cry of surprise as the mare picked up the pace, and abandoned any dignity as he clung to the saddle. His thighs burned but he didn't care. Staying on was far more important.

"Kaidoh!" Momoshiro cried behind him, and picked up the sound of Momoshiro clicked his tongue and the rhythmic rumble of sound that denoted Duncan cantering up to catch them.

The little mare had an easier time twisting through the trees, though, where as Duncan's giant status slowed him down somewhat. Of course, at this point Kaidoh didn't care. He just wanted off this crazy ride! Akutsu gave a little hop over a large branch in the path, which threw Kaidoh forward. He wrapped his arms instantly around Akutsu's neck and clung for dear life.

"Akutsu! Such a bad girl, desu!"

Kaidoh blinked and looked down from his position of clinging to the mare, only then realizing that the mare had actually stopped her dash for the cottage. She was standing primly before the squire Dan, gazing intently at the bushel of apples the boy had in the apron around his waist.

"Kaidoh! Kaidoh are you okay?" Momoshiro asked, Duncan skidding to a halt beside them.

The Prince catapulted off his giant, who shook his head and gazed just as intently at the apples as Akutsu was. The Prince caught the mare's reins, which by some miracle had not entangled with her legs, his face slightly pale.

"Dan, go inside with those," he ordered his squire, who nodded and scurried off. He turned back to Kaidoh, who had managed to push himself up and back into the saddle, still clinging to it. "Think you can get down?"

Kaidoh turned a glare on Momo and hissed weakly in the back of throat. Slowly he let his grip on the saddle go and slid his feet out of the stirrups. Taking a breath, he gripped the pommel and swung his right leg over to dismount. He hung on Akutsu's side for a moment, then released and hit the ground. Unfortunately, his legs did not agree with the sudden decision to jump down.

He grunted as he knees gave from relief and soreness. For a minute he was sure he'd get his newly cleaned tunic muddy, but strong arms caught him beneath arms and around his waist. In a split second he was hauled up and spun, and found himself pressed to Momoshiro's chest. The young Prince grinned amusedly at him, his chest thrumming with an almost inaudible laugh.

"You okay?" he asked.

Kaidoh couldn't quite find words to answer him for a moment. He had never been so close to Momoshiro's face without fighting with him before. At this proximity, and being that they weren't yelling at each other, he suddenly realized the Prince was rather…

He felt his cheeks grow hot and pushed away from Momoshiro with a hiss, grabbing Akutsu's reins and leading her back towards the barn so he could keep his back to the Prince and his blush under control. He could hear the starts of one of Momoshiro's indignant fits, but ignored it and kept walking, the sound of Duncan's hooves following behind a few seconds later.

**End of Pt. 6**

* * *

R&Ring is appreciated! Thanks!


	8. Part 8

WARNING: This chapter contains male/male sex. If you are uncomfortable with this, please either do not read or skip past that part of the story.

**Kaidoh and the Seven Tennis Players: Part 8**

Kaidoh glanced out his bedroom window, watching the rain come down with a vengeance. It was the third straight day of rain, and hopefully would be the last. The storm was a harsh one, but not near as harsh as the first string. Hopefully this new wave of ferocity would not undo all the progress his fathers had made on the bridge.

Kaidoh made his way to his closet to get ready for bed, carefully stepping around the pile of pillows and blankets that had become Momoshiro's after the climbing into Kaidoh's bed incident. Momoshiro had been less than pleased with the arrangement, but a few well-placed hisses had quieted him. However, that had not stopped Kaidoh from watching Momoshiro in the dark last night, watching the Prince toss and turn as rain pounded against the roof, the walls, and the window pains, couldn't keep him from seeing the very visible flinches as thunder growled and lightning flashed, or from hearing the few whines of very real terror when an especially loud thunder crash sounded. He'd woken up that morning feeling as if he should cry or something. He didn't want to go through another night like that. It was just to heart wrenching. He didn't know what happened to Momoshiro to cause such an intense fear of storms, but Kaidoh no longer thought it was trivial or that Momoshiro was faking it.

He had just pulled his shirt off when he heard the door open and close, Momoshiro throwing the lock, knowing Kaidoh's preference for privacy and security. Thunder rumbled outside, and Kaidoh didn't have to look to know Momoshiro had flinched. He always flinched.

As casually as he could, Kaidoh turned enough so he could see Momoshiro, the prince already pulling off his tunic and boots. "Do you think Oishi's tea helped?" he asked.

Momoshiro looked over at him, and Kaidoh could see the edges of crow's feet at his eyes and fear dancing just behind his eyes. "No," the prince admitted quietly.

Kaidoh wanted to bite his lip, but refrained. He felt so bad for the prince. "Well, what did you do back home when it stormed?" he asked.

Momoshiro shrugged. "I distracted myself. Usually something physical so that I was so tired I had to fall asleep."

Well, that was oddly helpful, coming from Momoshiro, and left some options. Kaidoh put his tunic and bandanna in the dirty laundry hamper and approached the prince. "There's enough room for us to do some stretching exercises," he offered, letting his eyes roam over the prince's body. He mentally slapped himself when he realized what he was doing, trying to look elsewhere.

Momoshiro blinked, and Kaidoh swore he could see the man's cheeks pinking. "Ah, thank you, but I usually did something a bit more active than that."

Kaidoh cocked his head, actually intrigued. "Like what? Swordplay?"

"Of a kind," Momoshiro admitted. Kaidoh hissed in response, letting Momoshiro know he did not appreciate the vagueness. Momoshiro blinked, and this time Kaidoh was sure Momoshiro was blushing. "Um…well…."

Kaidoh hissed his displeasure. Honestly, if he didn't want to tell him, just don't say anything at all instead of being vague. Kaidoh always thought being vague was far ruder than saying nothing at all. And somewhere, in the back of his mind, Kaidoh felt hurt that Momoshiro wouldn't tell him. He was asking for Momoshiro's well being after all! He just wanted to make him feel better, but Momoshiro wasn't going to let him.

"What, I'm supposed to divulge all my secrets to you?" Momoshiro demanded.

Kaidoh glared and hissed. "That's not what I meant."

"You sound like it," Momoshiro fired back in a clear rage that made Kaidoh bristle at the injustice of it.

Kaidoh stepped close to Momoshiro, hissing low and dangerously. "I was just trying to help," he snarled.

"No, you're prying," Momoshiro shot.

Kaidoh couldn't even find the words to respond. He went nose to nose with Momoshiro, glaring and hissing as his only means of communication at this point. Momoshiro glared back, and for the longest time they stood there, nose-to-nose, Kaidoh hissing and Momoshiro glaring. Kaidoh opened his mouth to begin to say something truly scathing, and that was when his world turned upside down.

The minute his lips parted he felt Momoshiro's lips press to his own and the prince's hands tangle in his hair and wind around his waist. It was not a soft kiss either. It was hard, almost desperate, and was (ironically in Kaidoh's mind later on) at the exact moment thunder roared outside the house. Kaidoh tried to push away, but each time he managed to get away from Momoshiro's lips and get air he would find himself kissing the man again. It was sort of like a game of cat and mouse, except Kaidoh was the mouse firmly trapped by the cat with no chance of escape.

Thunder rumbled and lightning cracked, the kisses becoming more insistent and demanding, the heat of their desperation rising as the storm raged and Kaidoh struggled. Finally Momoshiro seemed to realize what was happening and stopped, though he kept his hold on Kaidoh.

Kaidoh glared him, chest heaving and his fingers gripping Momoshiro's shirt with white knuckles. "What the hell?" he hissed.

"That's what I do," Momoshiro panted.

What he…? Kaidoh's cheeks went pink as he got the idea. Now the 'swordplay' made sense. He gulped, suddenly very aware of his proximity to Momoshiro, and the fact that Momoshiro had not loosened his grip at all. The rain continued to come down outside, splattering against the glass in a cruel staccato. Kaidoh glared up at Momoshiro, who glared back in return. But after many long hours in the Prince's presence, Kaidoh could see the fear, the desperation in his eyes. He wasn't lying when he said this was what he did, a physical activity so consuming it blocked everything else out, at least for a while. Or, at least, that's what Kaidoh assumed. He had never…well, yeah he had never.

And it was the only thing Kaidoh could do for him right now.

This time it was Momoshiro that was shocked as Kaidoh closed the gap between them, kissing him with a ferocity equal to that Momoshiro had displayed earlier. And now that Kaidoh was not being assaulted he found that kissing the Prince was rather…pleasant. Momoshiro's lips were warm, and his tongue moved with confident ease inside Kaidoh's mouth, making him shudder.

"You sure you want to do this?" Momoshiro asked him after what seemed an eternity.

Kaidoh bit his lip. He had to admit he was just a bit frightened, but…but he wanted to help. He wanted to help Momoshiro. He nodded and hissed just below his breath, and thankfully Momoshiro understood that.

Their lips were together again, and somewhere along the way Kaidoh felt the sheets of his bed pressing to his back, Momoshiro's weight settling over him. Momoshiro's lips left his, began a tender exploration down his throat and over his body, his hands preceding him. It was weird how the soft heat of Momoshiro's lips went so well with the gentle roughness of his hands, how the touches and kisses left trails of ember heat over him as they explored his body.

Tentatively his hands began to move over the Prince's body, marveling at the muscles he could feel beneath the smooth skin, the warm heat radiating from him. The kisses and touches grew more bold, but still tender, yet that didn't stop Kaidoh from reflexively trying to curl up when he felt the Prince slide his trousers off, leaving him utterly exposed.

But that didn't anger Momoshiro. He simply kept kissing him, touching him, whispering things Kaidoh didn't really hear until he relaxed. And then – oh god, and then Kaidoh found what pleasure was. At first it seemed embarrassing to have someone's hands and mouth doing as they pleased between his legs, but such a notion quickly fled. Whatever Momoshiro was doing, it was worlds better than anything Kaidoh had ever felt. His hips involuntarily pushed forward into the wonderful heat that had to be Momoshiro's mouth, felt the blood rushing to his groin and creating a burning heat there.

When Momoshiro's mouth left him, Kaidoh knew he whimpered. He knew it, and he didn't care, because the loss of that insanely wonderful warmth was worth whimpering over. But then Momoshiro's lips were on his and their bodies were pressing together, warm, slick flesh against flesh and it felt delightful. Kaidoh gasped and moaned as Momoshiro pressed their hips together, slowly thrusting against him, creating sensations that left Kaidoh's body burning and craving more.

He vaguely heard Momoshiro say something about pain, and indeed there was pain. It took Kaidoh a moment to realize that the pain was from inside him, and he nearly panicked at the thought of where Momoshiro's finger was, but then Momoshiro did something and if Momoshiro's mouth between his legs had felt good, then this felt so much better. He found his hips rocking of their own accord, and by the time Momoshiro had slipped three fingers inside him it was all Kaidoh could do not to buck and demand more.

Momoshiro removed his fingers, his hands sliding to grip Kaidoh's hips as Momoshiro's thighs spread Kaidoh's legs, his hands lifting Kaidoh up. Momoshiro's mouth was on Kaidoh's, mumbling something about how it would hurt, but to just relax, that next time it would be better and some other things Kaidoh didn't catch.

And Kaidoh didn't hear anymore as Momoshiro's hips moved and he entered Kaidoh. Kaidoh bit his lip, arching his back and gripping Momoshiro's shoulders tightly. It hurt. It hurt a lot. But Momoshiro was slow, slow and gentle, and eventually the pain faded as he pulled out and pushed back in with a slow rhythm. And as the pain faded, the heat in Kaidoh's body grew, and he was soon thrusting back against Momoshiro with his hips, begging for more of this sensation that set his body on fire. Momoshiro responded in kind, the heat escalating wildly till it was consuming Kaidoh, leaving no room for any other sensation but pleasure. And when Kaidoh thought it couldn't get any better, somehow Momoshiro found something inside him that brought spots before his eyes and made him buck, not to mention making him produce a sound that he was sure in the back of his mind was quite embarrassing.

But he didn't care at the moment, especially as Momoshiro kept finding that spot, striking at it with more and more ferocity. The fire burned hotter and hotter, moving to an almost painful intensity, and then Kaidoh couldn't take it anymore. His body bucked up and shuddered as he felt himself come, the fire washing over his body and out, leaving him trembling and exhausted. There was a small flicker of flame as he felt Momoshiro come inside him, and then the weight of Momoshiro's body fell on his own, panting heavily and muscles twitching.

They lay like that for some time, body to body, Kaidoh's arms around his shoulders (where scratch marks would no doubt appear in the morning). Finally Momoshiro shifted his weight off Kaidoh, flopping down next to him. At first Kaidoh thought the Prince might just leave it at that, but then Momoshiro's arms were around him, tugging him close, stroking his back and hair.

For once Momoshiro said nothing, and Kaidoh didn't hiss. Kaidoh pressed against the Prince's body, pleasantly exhausted and suddenly craving sleep. He tried to say goodnight, but it came out as more of a sleepy hiss. He could feel Momoshiro's chest thrum, perhaps in laughter, but he never did find out if Momoshiro had laughed or not, since sleep overcame him, and Kaidoh was loathe to fight it.

* * *

Momoshiro woke to the sound of birds twittering, and it struck him as how oddly cliché that was. He shifted beneath the covers and looked down at the sleeping man in his arms, face cuddled against his neck, breath softly wafting over his skin as he breathed.

This time there was no fear (well, maybe a little). He kept his arms around Kaidoh, watching him sleep, looking over the handsome features. He had only known Kaidoh for a short time, and while a lot of that time had been spent fighting, he had come to find himself fond of the man. They were from such different worlds, and it felt nice, somehow, to not have someone groveling just because he was the Prince. It felt nice to be yelled at (not all the time, but sometimes), to be treated like a normal person. Perhaps that was what attracted him most to Kaidoh, though the young man's good looks helped too.

All of his life he had been Prince Momoshiro, Heir Apparent. He was used to people doing as he said, never back talking him, and getting his way. He certainly had no end to people who could help him get to sleep on rainy nights when he became old enough to understand such activities. But Kaidoh…Kaidoh was so different. He didn't care if Momoshiro was royalty. He didn't give a damn about protocol or anything else really. He just treated Momoshiro like your normal, average, every day person, and that meant more to Momoshiro than all the groveling and gift-giving of every single noble in his father's court.

He tensed slightly when he felt Kaidoh shift, watched as his eyes blinked open and slowly lifted to meet his. His heart nearly stopped as Kaidoh's lips parted, a tiny dimple appearing in the corner in what Momoshiro knew was a smile.

"Morning," he half mumbled, half hissed.

"Morning," Momoshiro returned, leaning forward and pressing their lips together in a good-morning kiss.

He felt Kaidoh press closer against him, kissing back with a slow heat. It brought back the memories of last night, of making love to him, being the first to explore Kaidoh's body. It sent a thrill through him and he tightened his grip on Kaidoh. He had been so scared last night, of the storm and his stupidity for acting on his impulses and suddenly kissing Kaidoh like that, not to mention arguing with him. He knew Kaidoh had just been trying to help, and Momoshiro had to mentally slap himself to keep from using the storm as an excuse to do what he had wanted to do with Kaidoh. In the end he had gotten his way, but he was glad to know it wasn't because the storm was an excuse. You couldn't have a night like that using an excuse.

They parted for air, and Momoshiro felt himself being thrust away. "All right, off me," Kaidoh mumbled as he sat up and rolled out from beneath the covers.

Momoshiro blinked in confusion. "Kaidoh?"

"What?" Kaidoh asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he walked to his closet. "It's late. We have chores to do."

Momoshiro gawked. They had just made love for the first time the night before, and barely five minutes after waking up he was worried about chores? He watched incredulously as Kaidoh continued to dress, glaring back when the snake-minded boy glared at him since he was still in bed. Back home Momoshiro always lay about in the mornings with his storm night lovers. He kept glaring as Kaidoh came back over and slid onto the bed, glared until they were almost nose to nose.

"This isn't your palace," Kaidoh told him, though without venom or malice. "Chores," he said and leaned in, kissing Momoshiro lazily before departing from the room.

Momoshiro sat there a moment longer before following Kaidoh's advice and rising to dress for chores. He was right. This wasn't his palace and Kaidoh was not a storm night lover. Kaidoh was his lover. Or at least that was what he hoped Kaidoh had become. He sat on the bed, still warm from their bodies, and tugged on his boots with a mental sigh.

Why did he ever think being treated normally was sexy?

* * *

Fuji sat back and smiled at his creation.

On the work table before him was a slightly larger than average garden snake, colored a dull, molted brown and curled up on itself, tongue flickering from between its jaws in quick little spurts. Fuji had caught it in the palace gardens along with a few others. It had taken several tries, but this one snake had managed to survive his spell casting, and it was utterly perfect in Fuji's eyes.

The garden snake was imbued with a spell of eternal sleep, the spell itself sitting within the snake's newly given fangs. The snake bore no venom to kill a man, but the spell served the same purpose. However, Fuji had no intention of letting the snake slither free and waste the precious spell on just anyone. No, he had special plans for this snake; for the snake also housed a second spell – a seeking spell. Planted in the snake's mind, right down to the core of its very soul, was the urge to find his sister's bastard child and sink it's fangs into him. No one else would receive its bite, not even a predator or prey (to which Fuji had also placed spells on it to ward such things off).

Tonight Fuji planned to teleport the snake to just outside the Tokyo Forest. From there, all the snake had to do was following the urge to find the bastard, and when it did….

Fuji leaned forward and stroked the snake's head with his cold, serene grin.

Yes, everything was perfect.

**End Pt. 8**


	9. Part 9

**Kaidoh and the Seven Tennis Players: Part 9**

The next few days passed in what, for Momoshiro, was nearly total bliss. There was no more rain, and by all reports Kaidoh's parents were making excellent progress on the bridge. During the day he and Kaidoh would take care of the horses and other household chores.

Ever since their initial love making, Momoshiro felt the difference between them. Kaidoh was still touchy, and they still fought, but the make-ups came quicker, and were usually followed by a kiss (when Kaidoh's parents weren't around, of course). Even though Kaidoh wasn't much one for touching, Momoshiro found Kaidoh allowed him to give him an affection hug, a brush on the cheek, or some other form of contact every now and then, and only in private. Of course, any touching he didn't get during the day came at night. Once everyone else was abed, they spent their nights making love. Each time was better than the last, each finding new ways to bring pleasure to their lover, and making for nights that were never dull. For whatever reason Kaidoh did not want to bring up the change in their relationship to his parents, at least not yet, and Momoshiro was fine with that. It added a sort of dangerous flare to it all, having an affair with the son of his hosts, all right above their heads.

But at the same time, it had opened his eyes a little. He found he didn't mind doing chores and menial work if Kaidoh was there. The food tasted even better than before (and it had tasted wonderful to begin with), and living in what was pretty much the backwaters of nowhere seemed a far more pleasant thing than he had first imagined. All of it showed how much he had taken for granted in his life as a prince – how much luxury he had, but truthfully didn't need, and the little things he tossed away because of that luxury that he now found essential (like the attentions of the man he knew, without a doubt, he was in love with). He had been so miserable as Prince, to be honest with himself, but here he found he was happy.

So that was why, four days after the storm cleared, he found himself staring in stone cold shock at Oishi, who was grinning ever so happily as the news spilled from his lips that Momoshiro could leave as soon as tomorrow, because the bridge was complete at last!

"We know you must be anxious to get on your way," Oishi said. "And probably the entire royal guard is looking for you, no doubt."

"Of course," Momoshiro managed through his shock, glad Kaidoh wasn't there to hear the news (his lover was currently in the barn while Momoshiro was in the pasture with Duncan and Akutsu). "I'll tell Dan the good news."

"Do you want me to make a lunch for you tomorrow then?" Oishi asked. "If you leave early, you can make it to the capital a little after midday."

"Yes, yes thank you," Momoshiro smiled graciously even as his stomach twisted itself in knots.

The bridge was finished? He could go home? He knew that this shouldn't be as much a surprise to him as it was, but somehow he had gotten used to the idea of being perpetually stuck here, declared dead by his father, and freed from his life as the Prince. He wouldn't have given a damn if he never set foot in court again if he could wake up each morning to Kaidoh in his arms. But now…what choice did he have? He had a way to get to the capital, they were expecting him, and he was, first and foremost, the Heir Apparent of Hyotei, Crown Prince Momoshiro. He could do nothing about that, except perhaps abdicate, but he simply didn't have the courage to tell his father to stuff all his royal lessons someplace unpleasant and be done with it.

He tried to keep this sudden rush of emotion and thought off his face and actions whenever he saw Kaidoh, and he must have done a good enough job (he should have, being a Prince had taught him many things, including how to fake being happy). Kaidoh didn't ask what was wrong, and Momoshiro did not offer, unsure he could keep his composure if he had to discuss the sudden shattering of his merry dreams. With a single sentence his fantasy of spending a quiet, happy life with Kaidoh had come crashing down, crushed beneath the weight of his station.

Their lovemaking that night blocked most of it out, allowing Momoshiro to simply enjoy the pleasure of Kaidoh's body, thrilling in how delightfully responsive he was, shuddering as his name dripped from Kaidoh's lips in pleading moans. But as they lay there afterwards, a tangle of limbs and covers, Momoshiro couldn't escape it anymore.

"Kaidoh," he murmured.

"Hmm?" Kaidoh shifted against him, looking up from Momoshiro's chest.

Momoshiro stroked Kaidoh's hair, gulping. "I'm leaving. Tomorrow."

He felt Kaidoh's body stiffen, could see his eyes widening and the quiver of Kaidoh's lips in the dim moonlight. "For the capital." It wasn't a question.

"Yes," Momoshiro admitted. "I have to. I probably have them all scared to death that I'm dead. Not good for international relations."

"Of course," Kaidoh hissed. Momoshiro knew that hiss. It was the hiss that meant Kaidoh was upset, and likely to get very, very angry very soon.

Momoshiro didn't want to deal with an upset Kaidoh, as much as he probably deserved it. But the thought of an upset Kaidoh made him upset, if for no other reason than it doubled the realization he didn't want to leave Kaidoh. Imagining a life without Kaidoh was nearly impossible for Momoshiro. It just…it never even occurred to him that that was a possibility. He felt Kaidoh begin to shift away, and he reflexively held Kaidoh against him.

There were times that Momoshiro knew he should think before speaking. This was not one of them. "Come with me!" he blurted.

Kaidoh froze against Momoshiro, Momoshiro feeling Kaidoh's muscles physically stiffen to the point he felt like he was holding a statue. He gulped and looked down at his chest, meeting Kaidoh's wide eyes with his, putting every ounce of seriousness into the set of his lips and the glint in his eyes. He was serious. He wanted Kaidoh to come with me, to be with him. Damn having to marry Anne Tachibana. He didn't care. Ryoma was probably nearer her age anyways, and it was more appropriate for her to marry him since he was Second Prince, not the Heir. He would just show up at the palace, politely decline the wedding, but still manage to work out peace agreements (or so he hoped). But that was a side issue. The issue now was still frozen against his chest, staring at him with mouth slightly parted in a look of shock and surprise Momoshiro was sure he would never see on Kaidoh's face again.

"Come with me," Momoshiro repeated, sitting up and cupping Kaidoh's face in his palms. "I have to leave, but if I can't stay then I want you to come with me."

Kaidoh shifted with him automatically, though Momoshiro halfway believed it was because cupping his face probably hurt from the original position. He felt Kaidoh's calloused fingers place themselves over his, still staring at him.

"Momoshiro…," he murmured, his eyes suddenly casting themselves downward.

"Please," Momoshiro said, his throat tightening so that his words came out in a harsh whisper. "Please, Kaidoh."

Kaidoh's eyes remained looking downwards for what seemed an eternity. It was the kind of eternity that is, in reality, a span of few seconds. Momoshiro hated those moments. They gave him to much time to think. His mind ran through all the ways in which Kaidoh could say yes and which ways to say no – more ways to say no appearing than yes. Those seconds were a twisted, convoluted thing of agony for Momoshiro as he held Kaidoh's face, as he prayed to whatever gods or forces that be that Kaidoh would say just one, simple, simple word – Yes.

Kaidoh's eyes rose and met his.

"Yes."

* * *

It was perfect. Simply perfect.

Fuji breathed sighs of sheer pleasure as the snake he held in his hand slithered up his arm, coiled around his neck, and kissed at his ear with its forked tongue. The snake's skin was the color of a garden snake, yet richer, a more seductive green. It's eyes were bright and intelligent, staring at the world with curiosity and deadly determination.

He held out his arm and the snake slid down the length of the appendage and to his palm, coiling there and looking up at Fuji with eyes that were mere slits, tongue flickering as it tasted the air.

Fuji caressed its head with his slim fingers, shivering at the cool feel of the scales and the twist of power he got from touching it. And there was power in this little creature. Once it had been nothing, a garden snake making out a meager existence in the gardens, about to be killed like its brethren when the matriarch of the kitchens decided it was their time to leave this plane. But Fuji had gone to expel the snakes, not the head cook, and this snake, this one little insignificant creature, had been chosen by him to perform a task so monumental in stature the snake would live on in infamy for all time. And all because of the little bit of power he had inserted into the snake – more specifically in its fangs.

"Are you ready, little one? You have a very big day ahead of you," Fuji purred to it as he set the snake within an inked circle on his worktable.

The snake just looked at him and hissed once.

Fuji chuckled, stroked it one last time, and invoked his spell.

* * *

As soon as Momoshiro was out of sight that day, Kaidoh made his escape from his parents on excuse of needing to do the laundry.

The next three days were going to be the hardest of his life.

He was still in a bit of shock over the night before. Never in his life had he imagined that Momoshiro would ask him to leave everything behind and travel with him to the capitol, to stay with him forever. Even more shocking to him had been that he had said yes.

A smile twitched at his lips as he carried the laundry down to the now calm river. He could see the delighted shock on Momoshiro's face still, the wide eyes and the open mouth that quickly turned into a beaming smile and a deluge of kisses and promises that Kaidoh only half understood around the kisses and the touches.

Some of the excitement had been drained when Momoshiro told him he couldn't come right away. He said he needed to go get another horse, for one thing, to bring Kaidoh and any personal items he might want to bring with him. He also said Kaidoh should tell his parents about all of this, about what they had decided. Kaidoh almost snapped back he didn't need their permission anymore, but he didn't when he realized how that would crush his parents if he just left. What was more, Momoshiro explained he would need the day to tell the court he did not plan to marry Ann Tachibana, that he instead planned to spend his life with the love of his life, whether or not they like it. Kaidoh had to accept that, and it would be easier to tell his parents all of this if Momoshiro wasn't around for one or more of them to take their anger out on him and ultimately move the issue from Kaidoh to Momo. With him gone, they had no choice but to listen to him, with no other outlet for their possible shock and even anger.

And while the laundry did need to be done, Kaidoh was mostly using it as an excuse to think about what he would tell his parents, how he would get them to accept everything.

He set the basket down and rolled up his trouser's legs and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, wading into the stream and turning back to grab a pair of loincloths. He took a seat on a mostly dry rock and began to process of scrubbing and whipping the cloth, though his mind wasn't on the task.

When it came to telling his parents about his love affair with the prince, he supposed telling Oishi first would be best. Oishi tended to be the most level headed of his parents. Yagyuu would be another good option, though he would be less inclined to understand Kaidoh's view of the thing and probably give him a lecture on that political aspects and repercussions. Niou was utterly out of the question, as was Inui, and Eiji. Takeshi could possibly be a good starter, since he hardly ever got angry, but Oishi still stood out as the best choice. Either him, or Choutarou.

But how did a person start such a conversation? 'Oh, and by the way, Papa, I'm leaving in three days with Momoshiro, who became my lover during the flood.' Yes, nice opening. Why did he have to be so socially inept, even with his own family?

He supposed it didn't much matter, since his mind was made up. Even if they got angry or upset, he was going, and nothing they said could change that. They had to let go of him sometime, didn't they? They didn't expect him to spend his whole life in their little cottage in the back woods did they? Certainly he had never displayed any desire to ever leave, but that did not mean he did never wondered what lay beyond the forest he called his home. Momoshiro was merely the catalyst that got him to truly, truly start thinking about what lay beyond the river and the trees.

He let out a thunderous sigh as he laid out the laundry to dry and reached into the bottom of the basket for the last bits, gasping and drawing his hand back like he had been burned as something slithered against his knuckles. He leaned cautiously over the side of the basket, peering down at the gorgeous garden snake that sat among the last of the shirts. Its scales glittered intoxicating emerald green, lantern slit eyes peering at him as it lay coiled among the folds.

Kaidoh had never been afraid of snakes, not even when he was a child. They never had any poisonous snakes slip into the clearing, just the regular, nonlethal garden snakes. Kaidoh had found them beautiful, and Niou even teased him of spending too much time with them and picking up their habits. That, at least, was not true, but the amount of contact he had with the creatures made him distinctly unafraid of the one now sitting in his laundry.

"Come on then," he hissed, reaching both hands down to try and grasp at the snake. "Out of my laundry."

The snake put up no fuss as his hands clamped around it and lifted it from the basket. That was odd, but Kaidoh thought nothing of it as he rose and paced off from the river towards the undergrowth to release the creature. He knelt and opened his palms near the underside of a bush.

"There you are," he told it, sliding it out of his hands.

For a moment the snake hesitated on the ground, seemed to be turning to slither away. But then it turned, faster than anything Kaidoh had ever seen, its jaws opened wide. He grunted in pain as the snake's fangs found his hand, sinking deep into the flesh. He could see the blood welling up around the fangs, could see the muscles in the snake's jaw twitching as it wriggled the fangs, pumping venom.

But wait. It was a garden snake, wasn't it? How could it have fangs long enough to sink this far into his flesh? And venom? There was no way.

Yet all of that seemed irrelevant as the snake retracted its fangs. Kaidoh could actually feel the venom running through his veins, a feeling like fire slowly burning up his entire body. Breath burst out of him as he hit the earth, grass tickling his ears and cheek. His vision was darkening, and insistent tugging at the edges of his eyes, urging him to close them to sleep. But if he slept he was a dead man. He needed help. He needed his parents. He needed Momoshiro…

Slowly, he lost the battle. His eyelids slid closed, and still searing his sight as the darkness finally claimed him was the image of the snake wreathing in agony as its body burned to ash.

* * *

"Thank you, Yuuta," Fuji purred.

The mirror in which Fuji had been watching the demise of his sister's bastard clouded and turned clear. Yuuta did not appear this time, retreating into its depths. Fuji frowned a bit at this. He would be more careful of using Yuuta's power in the future, and he did need to devote more time to finding a counter spell. But without a physical body to put Yuuta in, there was little hope.

But, in light of that, Fuji could rest in Tezuka's arms tonight, safe in the knowledge that Tezuka would never become aware of the bastard his sister had birthed and thereby destroyed his King's chances at a son of his own. Damn woman. And to be sure that not even the Prince could change the facts, the spell was now out of his hands and utterly permanent. The boy would sleep for all time, ageless and timeless, but never waking. A perfect punishment for the bastards who dared to the save the wretch when he should have died.

Fuji shrugged out of his wizarding robes and into court robes, pleased with himself. Yes, tonight would be most fun, indeed.

**End of Pt. 9**

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I love it when readers R&R, so please do so! Thank you! :)


	10. Part 10

**Part 10 **

King Tezuka stared at Prince Momoshiro, and it was all Momoshiro could do not to wriggle beneath his gaze. It was like his father's in that it could cow him in seconds, but unlike his father's in that it was icy cold, filled with power, and the knowledge they could use it at will with no one objecting to them.

"I'm sorry. Let me get this straight. You are _refusing _to marry my sister?" Lord Tachibana said with an icy calmness that sent chills down Momoshiro's spine.

He looked up, facing the angered lord and nodded. "Yes, Lordship, I am."

"Explain yourself," King Tezuka commanded and Momoshiro had to hold back from physically jumping back.

He licked his lips. "Highness, Lordship – while I was stuck during the storm, I met someone. And, to be honest, Sirs, they are the only person who has ever made me feel like this. I… in good conscious, I cannot marry Anne. I couldn't make her happy since I would always be miserable, and I couldn't hurt this person by marrying Anne. I just couldn't."

He fell silent after that, waiting, keeping his eyes focused on the wall visible between the two men instead of starting directly at either one of them. Even then he could feel the King's eyes boring into him, and Lord Tachibana doing the same. One felt like ice crawling over him, prodding at his conscience, and the other felt like a controlled fury, poking at his sensitive spots and making him shiver.

"I am to assume that this is not a declaration of your intent to halt peace negotiations?" King Tezuka finally spoke, his voice rock hard.

Momoshiro nodded. "No, Highness. We still wish to continue peace talks, but perhaps another form of promise of allegiance can be arranged."

"Another form?" a new voice spoke, and Momoshiro's eyes slid over the form of one of the more beautiful men he had seen. He was wearing wizard's robes and took a place at the King's right hand, a prominent and important position. "Is there something wrong with the marriage proposal?"

"It would seem Prince Momoshiro has found another, and does not wish to marry Anne any longer," Lord Tachibana half-growled at the King's left hand and one step lower on the dais.

The wizard's brows rose and he looked over at Momoshiro, and Momoshiro saw his eyes open, two glittering blue orbs that pierced him like a trained knight's swords. It was a real, conscious effort to keep from squeaking and shrinking beneath that gaze. There was something… dark about it.

"There is always the Blood Oath," the wizard murmured.

King Tezuka turned, looking seriously at the wizard. "A Blood Oath? But wouldn't that mean little if it is only the Prince? Should not King Atobe be here to do that?"

The wizard shrugged once more. "It was only one suggestion. The other is something perhaps a little more hostile. The Prince must remain here. We will send messengers to King Atobe and alert him to the new situation. I am sure something agreeable can be reached."

King Tezuka's gaze hardened. "That is to hostile, Magister Fuji."

"I am only giving my humble opinion," the magician said with a tone of voice Momoshiro thought promised the King retribution for the chastisement later. "Very well, how about this? There is a spell I know – a binding spell. Prince Momoshiro swears in the stead of his father and all rulers following of their blood, as do you, Your Highness, to uphold peace between our Kingdoms. Should either break the treaty, their seed shall be struck impotent and their line shall end."

Momoshiro held back a reflexive grab to cover his lions. Why did magicians always target a man's privates in these things? Magister Yuushi had a special love for it that always made Momoshiro nervous.

King Tezuka considered it for some time, than finally nodded. "It is agreeable. Can it be amended, later, if necessary?"

"Yes," the magician nodded.

"Then I accept the terms," King Tezuka turned his gaze on Momoshiro. "And you, Prince?"

Momoshiro mulled over that. If he made the agreement, the magician said it extended from him back to his father and all following rulers within Hyotei of his father's line. That did seem reasonable, but it was well known that King Tezuka had no living heir, and that more than likely his throne would pass into the line of his wife, the Fuji family. The magician would not inherit, of course, but one of his cousins or siblings might should Tezuka perish. So, in effect, that left Tezuka largely unscathed either way.

"I will accept if the terms are broadened to any and all rulers of our future kingdoms," Momoshiro said.

Tezuka's brow twitched, but Momoshiro did not think it was in anger. He nodded his assent and turned to Fuji. "What must be done?"

The magician smiled and beckoned them all to follow, with a very peeved Lord Tachibana trailing behind.

* * *

Momoshiro groaned as he laid in his bed, an attendant placing a cool wrap on his forehead.

Damn that magician! He had heard of Binding spells before, but he hadn't imagined these were the consequences. The magician had taken all three of them to his workroom, and there inscribed a circle around King Tezuka and Momoshiro. He instructed them to place their right hand over the other's heart, and began to recite a spell.

Momoshiro felt something well up inside him, a sick feeling like spiders crawling all over his body. It bit and snapped at him, till he felt like he was covered in thousands upon thousands of bites. The feeling swelled and clamped inside his chest, making it hard to breathe and each beat of his heart a painful, excruciating experience – like being tortured. It swelled and burned and just when he thought he was going to collapse from the pain and the heat, it vanished.

Somehow Momoshiro kept on his feet, envying the King's cool clam when the spell ended, wondering if he had felt the same things. The deed was done though, and Tezuka ordered Momoshiro to go back to his room and rest. Momoshiro wouldn't have disobeyed and he surely did not want to, a bone deep weariness spreading through his limbs. The minute he hit the sheets of his bed, the fever had set in.

Luckily, a maid coming in to see if Momoshiro wanted to eat found him and sent for the physician, and now he was set beneath the covers with the male attendant nearby, changing the wraps and feeding him some sort of viscous liquid that at least did not taste wretched.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, Highness?" the attendant asked.

Momoshiro looked over at him. "Yeah. Write a message for me."

"A message sir?" the attendant blinked.

Momoshiro glared. "I'm the sick one, not you. Yes, a message!"

The attendant started and disappeared for a few moments and came back with stationary and a pen. Momoshiro watched him prep the supplies and took a deep breath.

"Write as follows: Kaidoh, I'm sorry, but it will be a little longer before I come to get you. I fell ill. Please wait for me a just a little longer. I promise I'm coming, Kaidoh, I promise. All my love, Momo," Momoshiro dictated.

It wasn't overly romantic, but Momoshiro wasn't really good at thinking like that, and he didn't think Kaidoh would appreciate flowery language and a three page long letter anyways. He glanced at that the attendant, slightly amused at the man's flushed cheeks as he wrote down the words. He had never written such intimate, private correspondence before, had he?

"And where should I tell the messengers to deliver this?" the attendant asked as he sprinkled sand on the paper to dry the ink.

"To a house in the Tokyo Woods," Momoshiro said.

The attendant started, gaping at Momoshiro. "Highness, you cannot be serious. No one lives in those woods except wild, magical creatures."

"Really? Because I staid with a family of eight during those horrid storms," Momoshiro glared at the man, though it was hard to concentrate on the act as a bought of heat washed over him and his head spun. He moaned and relaxed into the pillows, rubbing a temple. "Look, just tell my squire Dan to go back to the house and deliver the message. He knows where it is."

"As you say, Highness," the attended bowed from his chair. "Now, please, rest Highness. King Tezuka would never forgive me if I let your condition worsen."

Momoshiro sighed and settled back on the pillows, for once not fighting being told what to do.

* * *

"What are we going to do?" Choutarou moaned.

No one answered Choutarou. No one could.

Upstairs in his room, Kaidoh slept and showed no signs of waking. No one knew what had happened. All they knew was that Kaidoh had taken some time to return from washing the laundry, and when Inui went to go check, he had come home with Kaidoh in his arms, a swelling snake bite on his arm, and otherwise appeared unharmed.

Eiji and Choutarou initially panicked, demanding to know what was wrong with their precious baby boy. Oishi and Niou took the two aside to try and calm them down as Taka helped Inui carry Kaidoh up to his bed, Yagyuu following to try and help Inui indentify what was wrong. They checked Kaidoh over thoroughly, but beside the snakebite could not find any outwards signs of something being wrong. They dressed the snakebite wound and left it at that – it showed no signs of festering, which was good. Kaidoh developed no fever or any other symptoms of being poisoned, just continued to sleep with deep, even breathes.

Now, nearly three days later, there was still no sign of him waking. Choutarou was slipping into nervous breakdowns, often spending hours each day tending to Kaidoh – bathing him, cleaning his clothing, cleaning his room. The others tried to get to get his mind off Kaidoh, but that was hard to do when they were just as distracted. They felt the absence at the dinner table, in their every day lives.

Yagyuu and Inui both secluded themselves in the library for hours upon hours looking for an explanation, Oishi or Takashi often having to come and bodily force them out so they could eat and sleep. Oishi, for his part, was simply attempting to keep them all together. His was the voice of reason and courage, but everyone knew that of all of them he was bearing the crisis hardest. They could see the drag in his steps each morning, noticed his lapses in thought, often resulting in a strange taste in their food (to which no one commented, often because it tasted like cardboard anyways regardless of if it was normally delicious).

"Have you found anything?" Oishi asked quietly of Yagyuu and Inui, his voice strained.

The two men looked at each other and shook their heads. Their books had no answers, and neither did they. Choutarou moaned in despair, and Eiji squeezed Oishi's hand tightly, hiding back his own tears and groans of frustration. Silence descended between the seven men, each one with their shoulders hunched as the weight of their sleeping son bore down on them from above.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Excuse me, desu! Excuse me! I have a letter here for Sir Kaidoh, desu!"

The men started in surprise, looking towards the door as if they could not believe there was an actual person outside. The knocking and cries came again, and Oishi withdrew his hand from Eiji's and went to open the door.

"Dan," he said in a mixture of surprise and a muted delight when he caught sight of the young squire standing at attention at the door, his horse munching on grass a few meters off.

"Master Oishi, desu." Dan bowed. "Is Sir Kaidoh here?"

Oishi bit his lip, not sure how to answer that. Kaidoh was here physically, but mentally he probably was not. And how did he explain Kaidoh being asleep in the middle of the day. "Um, he's not here at the moment, Dan," Oishi lied. "He went to gather some berries."

"Oh," Dan said, then rummaged in his tunic and held out a sealed envelope. "Will you give this to him, please, when he gets back, desu?"

Oishi reached out and took the letter with a shaking hand. "I'll be sure to give it to him," he smiled at Dan.

Dan bowed. "Thank you, desu! I have to get back now, but I'll be back in a few days, I'm sure. Bye, Master Oishi, desu!" He turned and headed for his horse, mounted up and headed down the path to the bridge and the capital.

Oishi shut the door and came back to the others, sitting in his chair and Eiji once more taking his place on the arm next to Oishi. Oishi held the letter in his hands, stroking the seal, the debate clear in his eyes.

"What is it?" Niou asked.

"A letter for Kaidoh," Oishi said in his hoarse whisper.

"From who?" Takashi pressed.

"Looks like Momoshiro," Oishi said as he examined the red seal – the royal symbol of the Hyotei Kingdom with a 'M' placed in the upper left side.

A silence descended as the men stared at the letter. The debate shone in most of their eyes (save Niou, whose eyes shown mostly with curiosity). Oishi turned the letter over several times in his hands, fingering the fine envelope and once or twice picking at the seal, red wax coating the underside of his nail.

"We should read it," Yagyuu spoke up.

"But, it's for Kaidoh, not us," Choutarou protested.

"Yes, but Kaidoh can't read it, and what if it's important?" Yagyuu inquired.

Choutarou bristled. "It's still Kaidoh's letter, not ours. We don't have the right."

"We'll read it," Oishi declared.

Silence fell again, and the six others stared at Oishi in something akin to shock. Oishi remained silent, looking at the letter, and before anyone could say anything else he snapped the seal and took out the paper within, setting the envelope aside gently – respectfully.

The paper made soft rustling sounds as he unfolded it, and everyone collectively held their breath as he read. Oishi was silent for a very, very long time, to the point that Eiji frowned at Oishi and shook him slightly.

"Oishi?" he asked.

Oishi sighed and set the letter with the envelope, rubbing the bridge of his nose and leaning forward on his knees. The six waited, watching their undeclared leader, the air between them all practically quivering.

"Oishi?" Eiji asked once more.

"I hope everyone's ready for when Momoshiro comes back, because this situation is going to be very hard to explain," Oishi declared.

"Why would Momoshiro come back?" Takashi frowned.

Again there was that silence. "Because, if what that letter says is true, he and Kaidoh are in love."

Never before had a stunned silence been so complete.

**CHAPTER 10 FIN**

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Read and Review please

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	11. Part 11

**Part 11**

Four days. Four bloody days.

Momoshiro glared at the attendant assigned to him, now a young man who could run back and forth at Momoshiro's rather irate will. His fever had broken, but the physicians still declared he was too sick to go out riding or travel to far from his room. Momoshiro attempted to argue, but in truth he was still weak. He couldn't walk under his own power for more than an hour, and he was barely holding down thick broth and water.

He was currently situated in the window seat of his room, numerous blankets tucked around him and his back supported by a swatch of pillows. He cupped a mug of a thick medicinal tea that the physicians said he was finally ready for, but if he had his strength back the cup would have been smashed between his fingers by now.

Four days. Four bloody days!

What was Kaidoh thinking? Did he think Momoshiro had forgotten him? Four days was certainly not as 'quick as he could'! He itched to just jump on Duncan and ride at break neck speed back to his lover, pick him up in his arms, and never let him go. But he couldn't… and he had a sneaking suspicion that court magician had something to do with it.

But why would the court magician not want him to go retrieve Kaidoh? What was the problem? He'd negotiated peace between their countries even without marrying Lady Anne, so why would there be a need to keep Momoshiro sick? Nothing made sense.

He heard the door to his chambers creak open, and his brows puckered. He told his attendant to leave him be. He turned, a snarl ready on the tip of his tongue, but swallowed it when he saw who was really standing in the entrance to his room.

"Comfortable, Prince Momoshiro?" the Court Magician Fuji purred in a voice that was more ice than anything human.

Momoshiro glared at the magician, but decided that keeping a civil tongue was wiser than a snap that could come with hidden and very real consequences. "Enough," he replied, not taking his eyes off the magician.

"His Highness sent me to see if there was anything I could do for your condition," Fuji explained.

What, like make it worse? Momoshiro snipped in his head. But he kept that to himself. "The physicians say it's just a bad fever. I'll be better soon."

Fuji shrugged his shoulders, coming further into the room. Momoshiro resisted shrinking back from the man as he came within touching distance. "His Highness was concerned this was actually a bad reaction to the binding spell."

No, really? "I'm sure it wasn't," Momoshiro turned aside Fuji's concern. "Our own court magician has performed spells around and on me several times and there have been no ill effects. I probably caught something on the road."

"From those little forest men, I would bet," Fuji remarked.

"I doubt that," Momoshiro said. "They were clean and friendly. I doubt it was anything from their home or themselves."

"Are you so sure?" Fuji asked. "Perhaps I should check…" He moved forward, as if to touch Momoshiro's forehead.

"You will do no such thing," Momoshiro snarled, reaching up and slapping the hand away before he knew what he was doing. "You've done enough. Thank you for your concern, Master Fuji, but I think the physicians have my condition under control."

For a moment, Fuji's eyes split open and Momoshiro couldn't help but shiver at the cold blue depths that peered at him. Slowly, the magician's hand withdrew and he bowed.

"As you wish, Prince Momoshiro," he purred, suddenly warm, and Momoshiro's blood ran cold.

Without another word, Fuji turned on his heel and left the room. The room seemed to lighten with the magician's presence suddenly gone, and Momoshiro breathed a little easier. He looked down at the cup of tea in his hands and grimaced. He wasn't going to let the magician win.

Steeling himself with courage and his love of Kaidoh, he brought the mug to his lips and downed the infusion, the taste of grass stuck in his mouth the rest of the day.

* * *

"He's not coming."

"We don't know that. There has to be a reason. He's probably caught up in political problems, since he's refused to marry the Lady Anne, I suspect."

"It doesn't matter. It's been four days. He isn't coming."

"We have to give him more time. He said he loved him, he'll come."

"He signed it with 'love'. He never said he loved him. Face it, Choutarou, he's not coming!"

Oishi sighed, shutting the door the library. The arguments had been running like that since yesterday. Their house had become divided – those who thought Momoshiro might still come, and those that believed Momoshiro had lied. Oishi wanted to believe that Momoshiro would come, but four days was a long time to wait when the Capital was only half a day off. He desperately wanted to believe that Momoshiro was wrapped up in some political debates or sick, but his head said that was unlikely. What if he had gone ahead with the marriage? How would Kaidoh feel?

At the thought of his adopted son, Oishi fought back tears and leaned forward at the desk, resting his forehead on his hands. Kaidoh still had not awakened. Nothing about his countenance had changed at all. Choutarou and Eiji sat with him during the day, sometimes reading him stories at night or telling him of their day. But it did no good. Kaidoh didn't even show that he heard them somewhere in the depths of his sleep.

Yagyuu and Inui had finally given up on looking in their library. There was nothing there on this sort of condition. Still, both men were in the library across from Oishi at the window, looking through several books again, though with little enthusiasm. Oishi was certain they had poured over the books with such intense scrutiny as to set the pages on fire, but it made them feel as if they were trying to solve the problem instead of sitting around arguing like the rest of the household.

Oishi looked up at the sound of a book being slapped shut, Yagyuu rubbing the bridge of his noise and sagging in his chair, a clear sign of his defeat.

"Go take a break Yagyuu," Oishi murmured.

Yagyuu looked over at Oishi with a look of pure contempt, but Oishi ignored it. Yagyuu continued to glare at him, and when Oishi refused to break eye contact the man finally sighed and rose from his chair.

"I'm leaving," he announced.

Inui raised a brow. "I thought you wanted to go over those biology books once more."

"They don't have what we need," Yagyuu spat in uncharacteristic annoyance.

Inui slapped his own book shut. "Then what do you suggest we do?" he demanded in the way Oishi knew meant Inui was at the end of his last shred of nerves.

"You will stay here," Yagyuu snapped. "I am going to go to the Capital."

"You're what?" Oishi demanded.

Yagyuu turned his gaze on Oishi. "I'm going to the Capital. I have some favors I can pull to get me into the royal library. I'm sure they'll have what I need."

"The Capital?" Oishi repeated. "Yagyuu…."

"It's for Kaidoh," Yagyuu snapped. "I'll be fine. I go for trade day anyways, I know it better than any of you."

Oishi went silent, watching Yagyuu seriously. "See if you can't find out where Momoshiro is while you're there."

"Oishi!" Inui protested.

Oishi raised a hand to silence Inui. "It's for Kaidoh," he said slowly. "And it's our best chance of figuring this out."

Inui seemed to want to attempt to argue, but closed his mouth with a click and finally nodded.

Oishi turned back to Yagyuu. "Hurry and go. Try not to let the others know."

Yagyuu nodded and left the library, leaving the two men in a tense silence, Kaidoh's presence above their heads weighing heavily on their shoulders.

* * *

"How as he?"

Eiji looked at Oishi as he entered their room, slipping out of his night robe and crawling beneath the covers to Oishi's side. Eiji had been upstairs reading to Kaidoh, and from the look on the redhead's face it had not gone well. Oishi wrapped his arm around Eiji and the man snuggled against him, pressing his face to Oishi's chest.

"Still sleeping," Eiji mumbled.

Oishi rubbed Eiji's back. "What did you read to him tonight?"

"One of his old favorites," Eiji replied. "_Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_. I found it at the bottom of a box of old books he had."

Oishi tried to give Eiji a smile, but found it hard to fake one, even for the redhead. He squeezed his shoulder instead. "I'm sure he appreciated it."

"I wish things like fairy tales would come true," Eiji sniffed.

"Why?" Oishi asked.

"Because if they did, we'd just have to drag that Prince down here to kiss him and he'd wake up," Eiji burrowed deeper into Oishi's side.

Oishi sighed, turning to wrap both arms around Eiji and hold him tight. "I wish it were that simple too."

Eiji just nodded and snuggled closer, and they both took comfort in each others pain while upstairs Kaidoh continued to sleep.

* * *

Yagyuu breathed in the heavy scent of books. It was thick within the royal library, but that was only natural. The library itself was huge, scaling two stories and almost every inch of the walls covered in books. The only sections not covered were two large bay windows and a great fireplace, a painting of Queen Ryuzaki - who had originally ordered the library built nearly four hundred years ago – hanging above the hearth.

The library was empty at the moment, the fireplace still, and the only light coming from the large windows. Yagyuu sent a vague and mild thanks to his informant, a castle worker that snuck him inside. He had roughly six hours to find the books most relevant to his adoptive son's situation before his informant said he had to leave, and he had best be as thorough as possible since he had no idea if he could return anytime soon. His rather questionable past made him a less than favored figure within the capital's wall – at least within the nobilities' sections.

Turning his mind to the task at hand, he climbed to the second level of the library and made for the rear left section where the medical text were kept according to his informant. He spied several books his personal library was already in possession of, so focused on the much larger volumes that had been more recently produced than his own copies.

He gathered four in his arms and slipped to a back corner of the room that gave him a view of the entrance as well as keeping him out of a view, allowing him time to hide should someone unexpected come in the library. He glanced out one of the bay windows, noting the position of the sun, and then set to scouring the books.

He could only pray there might be an answer here.

"Sire, I can retrieve whatever it is you wish to read," panted Momoshiro's new attendant (the old one retired, being unable to put up with Momoshiro's surly temper and random items being thrown at him).

Momoshiro turned and leveled a dead serious gaze at the young man, who gulped and crashed to a halt as if he'd hit a brick wall. Momoshiro clutched his hands together in twin fists, his lips tight.

"I don't care what the magician or the physicians or anyone else told you," he growled. "I want to go to the library and sit and read for a few hours. I want out of my room and that ridiculously tiny garden. Do you have a problem with that?"

The attendant gulped and shook his head, his blue eyes wide in fear. Momoshiro snorted and turned back around, marching towards the double doors that led into the Royal Library. There was no sound of the pattering of small booted feet following him, and when he glanced back the page was no longer visible. Momoshiro didn't give a damn.

It had been five days now, and he was lucky that he had the strength to make it to the library under his own power. The medicinal teas had helped – though he hated to admit it – and he was sincerely glad he had not let that magician touch him. He was on the way to recovery, faster than the medics expected at this point, and he intended to keep his streak going. He would be well in two days, and then he would be riding straight for Kaidoh and damn the consequences.

He thrust the library door open and strode though, slamming it shut behind him with a sort of wicked glee. He paused to make sure no one else was in the library before making for the far right hand wall where the novels were kept. Queen Ryuzaki built the library for two purposes: to store critical information on the Kingdom and its Allies and Enemies, as well as to store those writings that gave her pleasure and let her escape the life of being Queen for a few hours each day. Even after her death, her granddaughter, Queen Ryuzaki Sakuno, continued adding to the library, and it became tradition for each monarch to give some sort of published work to the library during his or her reign. As it was, the upper levels contained numerous medical, magical, and other scholarly texts while the bottom level held novels, grouped according to their content and then by author name. Momoshiro had been exploiting this vast collection over the past four days, sending his attendants running for more and more books since all he could do for any length of time was sit up and read.

He selected a rather hefty volume from the shelf, noting it was a collection of fairy tales gathered from around the known world. Figuring it was better than nothing, he made for one of the plush chairs near the fireplace and made himself comfortable reading the tale of 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves', yet listening for the approach of angry medics, as he assumed his attendant would no doubt inform them of his rebellion.

"Is _this _what you have been doing all this time?"

Momoshiro jumped, the book flapping to the ground. He spun in his chair, eyes widened as he caught sight of the man standing at the top of the staircase to the next level, his arms crossed and looking down his nose at Momoshiro with the hair of the highest of the nobility.

"Yagyuu?" he blubbered.

The man descended the stairs, striding before Momoshiro before the Prince could make a move of his own. For the first time, Momoshiro knew what Yagyuu's livid face looked like. Akin to the King's, it struck fear in Momoshiro's heart and sent ice through his veins, and he was entirely certain he would have been dead if looks could have killed.

"Well, I'm glad I at least got one answer while I was here," Yagyuu hissed, sending a pain through Momoshiro as it made him think of Kaidoh.

"What do you mean?" Momoshiro demanded, recovering himself.

"What do you think I mean?" Yagyuu snapped.

"Well, I don't know, else I wouldn't be asking!" Momoshiro spluttered back.

Yagyuu's face was livid. "This is how you show your love for my son? By sitting around reading novels?"

Momoshiro's eyes widened. How had…? Did Kaidoh tell them? Well, it was no matter now. They knew. His shock turned to righteous anger and he glowered back at Yagyuu. "For your information, Yagyuu, I've been sick with a fever for the past five days! I'm lucky I could make it to this library under my own power and medic not tackling me!"

Yagyuu continued to glare at him, but didn't immediately reply. His eyes looked Momoshiro up and down, as if taking in his paler than usual coloring, the angry redness to his eyes, the little bags beneath his eyes from nights of sleeplessness thanks to thinking of Kaidoh, worrying over him, and the fever making it to hot to be comfortable.

"Well… I suppose you would have come sooner barring that, and if you had known," Yagyuu relented.

"Known? Known what?" Momoshiro demanded.

Yagyuu regarded Momoshiro very seriously. "Soon after you left, we found Kaidoh in the woods, asleep. He's been sleeping ever since. Nothing we do wakes him up."

Momoshiro's eyes bugged out in horror. Kaidoh had been sleeping for five days? No one did that! "What's wrong with him?" Momoshiro demanded, grabbing at Yagyuu's collar.

Yagyuu calmly disengaged Momoshiro's fist, brushing his front. "I don't know. Nothing in our library or this one mentions anything that could possibly be Kaidoh's ailment."

"Are you going back now?" Momoshiro asked, very near hyperventilating.

Yagyuu nodded. "My informant should be coming to fetch me shortly and get me out of here."

"Well, he'll be having two people to smuggle out instead of one."

Yagyuu's brows furrowed. "I only have one horse ready."

"And I have Duncan," Momoshiro snorted. "He has to get you down to the stables and out for your horse, right?"

"I'm not a fool," Yagyuu snarled. "My horse is stabled at an inn outside the nobility quarter."

"Fine then. I'll just rent a beast then," Momoshiro countered. One way or another, he was going to go see Kaidoh!

Yagyuu opened his mouth to argue, but there came a soft knock on the door in a swift pattern of two-three-one-two. He kept his glare on Momoshiro, and then finally nodded.

"Keep up," he said, turning on his heel and heading for the door.

Momoshiro would… or he'd die trying.

* * *

"What do you mean Prince Momoshiro is _missing_?" Fuji snarled at the quivering guard standing before him.

"We can't find him, Sir," the guard gulped. "His attendant came to fetch him from the library for his supper, and he wasn't there. The medics and guards have scoured all the places he would be hiding, and he hasn't been found, and we have no reports from the city saying he's at any of the taverns or whore houses either."

"Well, search _harder_," Fuji snarled.

The guard squeaked and fled, leaving Fuji to slam the door to the King's private quarters, dressed only in his lounging robe, and pace the room. How? How had this happened? He went to the window, biting at his thumb as he stared out at the castle grounds. There was nothing much to see, certainly not a rogue Prince. In fact, he was pretty damned sure he knew where the Prince was headed.

There were several outcomes to the situation. The most problematic was Momoshiro bringing Kaidoh back to seek medical treatment, as he had a right to do. There was the possibility of his sister seeing Kaidoh and recognizing her child, which then presented a whole more slew of problems he didn't want to deal with. There was the hope he would stay with the bastard and not want to come back. But that was unlikely. The Prince was a determined man, and wouldn't sit quietly by while his lover was 'sick'.

He needed time. He needed time to plan for what might happen. He glared out at the sky, his eyes brightening to icy blue for a moment, and he could feel the approach of a coming storm. He needed a few days, just a few. Then he would know what to do.

"Fuji?"

Fuji turned from the window, his eyes dimming to their usual sparkling ocean blue. He padded across the carpet and into Tezuka's arms.

"I've been waiting," he purred.

Tezuka pressed a kiss to Fuji's lips, hands cupping Fuji's hips. "Sorry," he murmured.

Fuji chuckled, and decided he could let the problem of Momoshiro and the bastard slip away for a few hours, and focus on his royal lover instead.

But tomorrow - oh tomorrow he would ensure that that bratty Prince and that bastard never made it back.

* * *

R&R please ! 3 - OB

* * *


	12. Part 12

_Everything was fuzzy, like looking at everything through spider silk. Sounds were muted, as if cotton stuffed his ears. Vaguely, Kaidoh was aware of his body feeling heavy, of an ache in the upper region though identifying it was beyond him. _

_He felt like he'd been here a long time, this place of fuzzy images and muted songs. He thought, now and then, he could hear people talking to him for long periods, but the words were never clear enough. Sometimes he thought he saw things - a cottage, a horse, faces. None of them made sense, and he couldn't make them out. And normally he was just to tired to try and place them anyways. _

_More often than not he found himself humming songs, lullabies he recalled his fathers singing to him as a child. He recounted the fairy tales they read him, and when those ran out he started recalling facts from the libraries books, and then beyond that imagining his daily chores._

_Time ticked on inside his head, beyond the fuzzy glow that surrounded everything, and eventually he was left with only the memories of Momoshiro. His body warmed as he imagined the other man pressed to him, the smell of hay, metal, and earth that clung to him, calloused palms caressing his skin like he were priceless silk. His lips slid up into a content smile, his body slowly uncoiling and floating within this realm of fuzz. _

_"-oh"_

_He blinked, sitting up, looking around._

_"Kai - "_

_Where? Where as that coming from?_

_"Kaidoh!" _

_He knew that voice. It was... it was..._

_"-oh, ple -..... - ke....- up!" _

_What was he saying? He couldn't hear. His ears were to stuffed with cotton, the air to thick. He let himself fall limp again, just floating, just dreaming._

_"Please, wake up!"_

_He would have, but he was just to tired to move._

_******_

"He really won't wake up," Momoshiro said, sitting down heavily in the chair that kept vigil by Kaidoh's bedside.

Yagyuu nodded, a hand resting on the back of the chair. "We've tried everything and looked through all the books in our library, but nothing. It's why I came to the capital - to see if the Royal library had anything of use."

Momoshiro snorted, his thumb gently stroking Kaidoh's hand, wondering if the other could feel the tender motion.

"You're welcome to stay here," Oishi added, having been on sentinel duty when Yagyuu and Momoshiro returned still sweaty and muddy from their ride. "I think having you here will do some good."

Momoshiro only nodded woodenly, reaching out and tenderly caressing Kaidoh's cheek, a thumb brushing the full bottom lip he had spent nights kissing. "Perhaps I should bathe first," he said. Though it was hard to imagine tearing himself away from Kaidoh at the moment, he knew he smelled and somehow the thought of offending Kaidoh in his sleep with his sheer odor did not sit well with Momoshiro.

"Of course," Oishi squeezed his shoulder. "I'll have Taka prepare the bath then." The older man turned and left, Yagyuu's sole presence far less comforting that Oishi's had been.

"There has to be something you missed," Momoshiro finally said.

Yagyuu turned a glare at the younger man. "Are you saying I didn't do everything I could for my son?"

Momoshiro sighed. He was in no mood for a fight. Not now. "I didn't say that. I just think maybe we should look the books over again. Maybe there was something you guys missed before."

He could feel Yagyuu's stare, could see the clenching of his knuckles at his elbows. It wasn't hard to see where Kaidoh got his stubbornness from, if this man was one of his father figures. Not that Momoshiro would change that part of his lover, but it just seemed odd he'd noticed such a small thing when there was the much larger problem of Kaidoh being comatose. Guess that's what happened when you under a lot of stress and still sick to boot.

_"_I'll bring you some of Kaidoh's old fairy tale books," Yagyuu broke the tense silence. "You can read to him tonight. That seems to illicit some response."

"Right, I can do that," Momoshiro squeezed the frighteningly limp hand in his, bringing it to his lips and kissing the knuckles.

Yagyuu's hand descended on his wrist, tugging. "Go bathe," the older man said. "I'll stand watch."

He hesitated, hand tightening around Kaidoh's, but Yagyuu's grip was firm, and his words had not rang of suggestion. Licking his lips, Momoshiro slowly let go, though the effort cost him even more than riding at break neck speed with a fever had. Slowly he pushed out of the chair and shuffled to the door, looking back to watch Yagyuu settle in the chair, hands lovingly brushing Kaidoh's hair and tucking the sheets in a bit tighter where they had come loose.

****

Dinner settled like a lump of cold lead in his stomach. A part of him squealed in excitement over the burst of flavors and the rich aromas drifting from each dish, but that part of him was easily over shadowed by the nagging worry for his lover, still sleeping upstairs. The seven men around him looked equally ill as they forced food into their mouths, forks and knives clanging loudly in the miserable silence.

Momoshiro almost felt bad for forcing himself on Yagyuu, for making the man bring him here. This family was suffering, the weight of the ordeal clear in every pair of eyes, in every pair of slumped shoulders. He loved Kaidoh, but he had only been a guest in these people's home for a short time. He wasn't family. He was a prince who stumbled upon them and got stuck thanks to a freak rain storm.

But regardless, he knew without a doubt he was in love with Kaidoh, and family or no family he wanted to be there for the woodland child. He'd offer what comfort he could for the family, but to be honest he knew he couldn't do much more than be another mouth for them to feed.

"I think I'll go ready to Kaidoh," he announced, the clatter of cutlery stopping in such perfect unison it sent a chill up Momoshiro's spine.

"The books are on the bedside table," Inui finally announced for them all, the family staring together at the interloper.

Momoshiro licked his lips and nodded, taking his plate to the kitchen before practically fleeing up the stairs. Damp sunlight filtered through the window of Kaidoh's room, bathing everything in a watery red. The sight sent a sort of lurch through his stomach, but he calmed it quickly. There was no reason to panic. Panic would get neither him nor the other men anywhere. And it certainly would do Kaidoh no good.

He grabbed an extra pillow or two from the windowsill to pad the chair as he sat down, taking the first book off the small pile on the bedside table as had Inui promised. He looked down at the title - Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

"They actually read this to you as a kid?" he snorted, flipping to the first page, along side which sat a drawing of a beautiful woman surrounded by seven stumpy men.

He took a breath and started reading, slowly, stopping almost every page to check on Kaidoh. Besides the occasional twitch, there was no real change. Eventually he just turned his attention to the book, eyes grazing over the words and settling on the drawings - a small hut in the forests, the woman singing and cleaning with animals, the dwarves hiking off to work, the evil stepmother brewing her potion. The pages felt soft and well worn in his hands, obviously well loved and often read. And somehow it just seemed to fit this idealic little life this family lead - with its Snow White now laying abed and the seven dwarves down stairs stooped in worry.

He flipped the page, snorting when he saw the intricate painting of an unrealistically handsome prince leaning down and kissing Snow White, the dwarves and animals all watching in anticipation.

"And so the Prince kissed Snow White with the purity of true love's kiss, breaking the evil queen's curse. As the prince pulled back, she opened her eyes, stretching and yawning as if waking from a long and restful sleep," Momoshiro read, his eyes flickering up to the still form of his lover so carefully wrapped in blankets and sheets instead of put on display in a glass and gold coffin outside in the woods.

"If only things were that simple, right?" he asked, reaching out to stroke the terrifyingly warm cheek.

He looked down at the picture again, of the Prince kissing the spell bound princess. In a way it was oddly similar to Kaidoh. But who would even want to put a spell on him anyways? He didn't have an evil stepmother or anything after him. Maybe it had just been a terrible accident in these woods. They were supposed to be magical, after all. But no matter the reason, the reality remained that Kaidoh remained trapped in sleep.

"The purity of true love's kiss, huh?" Momoshiro huffed, slamming the book shut and setting it on the counter. "Why not? If nothing else, it might give you good dreams."

He leaned over the bed, his face above Kaidoh's. His lover's face was smoothed in the serenity of sleep, but he would have given anything at that moment to see the crease of his brows, the turn of his lips downward in a familiar scowl or hiss. Anything but this terrible sereneness.

"I love you," he whispered, leaning down and pressing his lips to Kaidoh's, still so horribly warm.

*****

_"I love you."_

_The words tore through the fog, ripped the cotton that crowded his hearing to shreds and beat at his very soul. Warmth spread through his body, making him tingle. _

_With a jerk he felt his body rising, as if hooked to a fishing line. The fog swirled around him, flashing by, the wind screaming in his ears as he hurtled up, and up, back towards something he knew, a tender warmth. But it was all coming to fast. He couldn't comprehend it. _

_He couldn't... where was he... _

_Light, beautiful burst light. And then - _

_****_

Kaidoh groaned, eyebrows scrunching, slowly blinking his eyes open. The room felt to bright, even though he knew it was only the lamp on his bedside table that was glowing.

"Kaidoh?"

He turned his head slowly, frowning up at a familiar face. "What are you doing here?" he croaked. "I thought you had to go to the capital..."

"Kaidoh!"

The bedridden man grunted as he was suddenly brought into a fast hug, fearing his ribs would crack beneath the pressure. He hissed his displeasure, though Momoshiro still took his sweet time in letting him go. Kaidoh opened his mouth to berate the other, but found his words swallowed by the press of Momoshiro's lips, the sweep of his tongue.

"I can't believe that worked," Momoshiro laughed, kissing Kaidoh again and again in a happy delirium.

"What worked?" Kaidoh managed around the kisses, weakly shoving at Momoshiro, trying to get the other off him so he could get up.

Momoshiro paused, sitting on the edge of the bed, his hand holding Kaidoh's so tight his fingers went numb. "You don't remember?"

"Remember what?" Kaidoh demanded, tiring of this.

"You were under a spell or something. You've been asleep for a week or more now," Momoshiro explained.

Kaidoh blinked. "What?"

"Your parents probably know more than I do. All that matters is that you're awake now!" Momoshiro gushed, leaning down and kissing him again.

Kaidoh could have hissed, but he had to admit it felt good to kiss the other, to have him back here instead of riding off to the castle.

"Your parents," Momoshiro jerked back. "I have to go get them! They'll be so happy. I'll be right back!"

Kaidoh didn't have the strength to stop him, sighing as Momoshiro dashed out of his room and pounded down the stairs, shouting 'Hallelujah' all the way. Kaidoh just sighed and lay back into his pillows, eyes drifting over the forgotten fairy tales book on his bedside table.

****

"AAAAAAAH!"

Fuji clutched his head, writhing on the stone floor of his lab as his body exploded his pain. It was like knives were being stuck in him and twisted cruelly, like crows were cawing in his ears. He knew what this was, he could see the spells he cast unraveling, snapping back at him like a snapped violin string. He felt like he was being devoured by a pack of wolves, flesh torn from his bones by their savage teeth.

But at last the pain ended, leaving him a quivering mass of muscle and robes upon the floor. Each breath was a struggle, knives sliding down his throat, sweat dripping from his nose and jaw.

"Brother?"

Fuji's eyes slid to the mirror, where Yuuta's face watched him, pressed to the glass. He could see the concern in it, and it was perhaps only his brother's worried anguish that gave him the strength to sit up. That - and rage.

"They broke my spell," he hissed.

"Who?" Yuuta's brows rose to the top of his short-cropped hair.

"Those backwoods bastards," he hissed, grasping the edges of the table and hauling himself up, his power building, his rage giving him power.

"Brother?"

Fuji hobbled to the window, getting stronger with every step, an ominous rumble sounding as he flung the glass open. Power swirled around him in a red mist, electricity crawling along the edges.

"Brother!"

But Fuji didn't hear, shouting the words to a teleportation spell, one destination set firmly in his mind.

Outside, the sky rumbled.

***

Yes, yes it is an update. I'm sorry for leaving it so long, but RL ate me alive. Anyways, hope to get the last few chapters up in a more timely manner ~ OB

Random Notice: I will probably be changing my SN to wicked_loving, sometime soon. So, keep an eye out for that! I'm still the same old OB, but just with a new name. :)


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